Larry Brown and the Bobcats ran a clinic on sound NBA defense and the art of running the break; the Raptors did their part by being the test dummies and got ripped to shreds by an athletic Charlotte club that smelled weakness and showed no mercy. The Bobcats ran fast break after fast break to an eventual rout of the Raptors. In what was arguably their worst effort of the season, “effort” being the key word here, the Raptors laid down and rolled over for a 116-81 whooping. The energy wasn’t there, shots weren’t falling, and another abysmal third quarter sealed the deal as the Bobcats won by the largest margin ever in franchise history.
The game started off pretty harmlessly for the Raptors. Tyson Chandler asserted himself early on with some good defense on Chris Bosh and crashed the glass against a stationary Raptors rebounding unit. It looked like he was going to be a difference maker early on, especially since he’s got the kind of length that has given Bosh trouble in the past. Andrea Bargnani, while not doing a good job containing Charlotte’s rebounding presence, was doing good things offensively. He made a nice cut to the rim for an easy layup, something we’d all like to see more of. Perhaps Andrea was taking notes when he saw the wily old vet Rasho pull off the same thing against Indiana the night before. You saw DeMar DeRozan trying to block everything in sight, ironically ended up on the receiving end of 5 blocks by the time the night was mercifully over. The score was pretty much even, but somewhere in the first quarter, a theme began to emerge, one that would continue to present itself for the rest of the game.
Jose Calderon drove in for a layup which caught some rim but stayed out. Two seconds later, Raymond Felton came streaking down for an easy fast break bucket. Jose was nowhere to be found, well, he was actually at the 3-point line. This was where the Raptors transition defense failed miserably, allowing 41 points to their 10. Some of the fast breaks were unavoidable, sure, but too many of them were cases where Charlotte just ran right past the Raptors. It’s not like someone was just lagging right behind…nobody was home, not even in the same TV frame.
Two players really hurt the Raptors – Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace. Jackson asserted himself early on and was very successful posting up on the left block against DeRozan and then curling into the middle of the lane, proving too strong for the rookie. I can see practically every team in the league that has a half-decent guard being instructed to attack DeRozan. It’s not the kind of weakness you want in a lineup that already has Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani.
Amir Johnson was the first player off the bench and he continued to impress, wasting little time tipping in a Bosh miss and then later running the floor for a nice catch and layup. At some point, you have to look at giving Amir extended minutes. He addresses two of our major needs: defense and rebounding, and is showing that he isn’t a complete liability on offense. DeMar DeRozan showed a bit more offensive aggression today and scored some quick buckets early on by slashing without the ball. This is something that we are seeing with increasing regularity, DeRozan getting a couple of good looks for early buckets. It’s good, but I want to see DeRozan handle the ball at top of the key and try to create something for others by using his quickness. To be a quality SG he’s got to be a good, if not great, playmaker. A couple of nice dimes off a controlled drive would put me at ease. DeMar did get stuffed a few times today but he’ll learn what he can and cannot do at some point. He’ll never have that powerful finish that guys like LeBron or Wade have, but where he lacks in power, he could make-up in technique.
Bosh put Chandler in foul trouble late in the 1st but Nazr Mohammed came in and played impressively (11 pts, almost twice his season average) as Andrea Bargnani showed little to no interest in preventing Nazr from dominating the paint, the Italian had 4 rebounds in 28 minutes. I think people are starting to realize over time that Bargnani is flawed as a defensive player and pretty soon the bandwagon will be full. The offense was fine, he scored 11 points in a 7 minute stretch in the second quarter and was keeping the Raptors in it, but after that he only took 3 shots for the rest of the game. Somebody (Triano) explain that. I would also have liked to see Rasho be rewarded for a good performance by getting a few minutes, he at least showed enough to warrant a second look.
Marco Belinelli came in near the end of the first and started off with a nice dish to Amir, showing some good court vision again, but he was ultimately unable to make an impact as the jumper wasn’t falling and the transition opportunities just weren’t there (2-9 FG with 3 turnovers including a couple rejections). Those of you who think he is starting SG material, don’t skip over these performances on the way to your evaluations. Charlotte had 16 blocks on the night, each one more demoralizing than the previous one. The also had 13 steals and forced the Raptors into 15 turnovers. So much for Triano having ball-handling out there with Jack, Calderon and Turkoglu. Absolutely dominant defensive performance which could make a grown man cry.
Amir Johnson was the lone bright spot for the team in the second quarter as he had a couple put-backs and was visibly hustling on every possession (13/8 and 3 blocks for him). Andrea showed a little offensive diversity with a corner 3, a part of the court he rarely ventures to and I can’t explain why that is the case. The Raptors are terrible at defending offenses that swing the ball well to the opposite side, no one is reacting fast enough because the intensity is just not there – there is no will or want to defend. Some uncharacteristic Calderon and characteristic Jack turnovers led to another wave of fast breaks as Charlotte racked up the PINP (74-44 for the game) Again, there was no one even the vicinity off Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton and Stephen Jackson as they accelerated towards the Raptor rim – we just didn’t get back. Transition defense is a function of effort and since we didn’t put forth any, we got deservedly smoked. Inexcusable.
Hedo Turkoglu coudn’t handle Gerald Wallace. It wasn’t even close. Antoine Wright was marginally better, but whatever benefit he brings is washed out by a non-existent offensive game on an offensively struggling team (tonight). Wallace abusing him wore Turkoglu out and he had a bad game overall, zero impact and looked like he was asleep. You can’t have Jose, Jack and Turkoglu all struggling at the same time, those are key contributors for us and nights off from even two of them usually doesn’t bode well. Both point guards were just as bad as they were good yesterday. Calderon was passive and Jack couldn’t find his shot. Raymond Felton started abusing Calderon on drives which is crazy because Felton can’t throw a rock in the ocean and should be give ample space to try his miserable jumper. You could see his confidence growing as the quarter went on and the lead started to build. You make this offensively-retarded team (2nd worst in the league) believe they can score at will and they become more aggressive. The 31 point fast-break edge is almost historical in its disparity.
What bothers me is that if it was a matter if ability, it would be more palatable, but you can actually feel that the effort is not there at times. They think they can just outscore teams, it worked against the pathetic Pacers but when facing a decent defensive team, it’s not going to fly.
The 3rd quarter, like the second was bad. In fact, Charlotte was +9, +12 and +17 in the final three quarters. Defensively, they did anything they wanted. They tore the ball away from the Raptors and went off on numerous fast breaks as we helplessly watched. At one point in the 3rd the fast break margin was 33-6. Sometimes it felt like a fast break even though all our players back. On one play Gerald Wallace collected a pass and cut into the middle of the lane, gathered himself and tomahawked it down. The Raptors barely moved. Why is Wallace being allowed unimpeded through the middle of the lane? Why isn’t someone on him like white on rice? There is no physical presence which can hope to intimidate anyone on this team, maybe Evans but who knows when he’ll be back. You need to make things a little uncomfortable for the other guy, bump him in the lane, grab some shorts, show some ambition! It really did feel like a fast break point.
By the end of the 3rd it was an 18 point lead but it may as well have been 60, we didn’t look potent enough to threaten anything and the 4th was just more punishment. The Raptors cannot handle athletic, hustling teams. Memphis outhustled them as well and they looked to be a worse team “on paper”. You can argue that these Bobcats are worse on paper as well, but you can’t quantify effort on paper, and that’s what the real difference is. Tonight was a damning example of that.
67 Raps
Laziness is definitly how it seems, and can be attributed to some of the points Bobys scored. But to me, they just seem out of shape. That compounded with one of the worst defensivly excuted schemes of all time is why we won’t budge from the bottom 5 in defense all year. I still don’t understand Triano’s “house” plan. It seems almost anyone with a tiny bit of athleticsm can get to the rim with ease against this D. I have zero faith in this system and it most definitly needs to be abandoned.
In addition, I hate Iavroni’s face. He someone that you just want to punch within seconds of standing near him.
Great article by the way A-Dub, your insight is always thorough. :)
Congradz for puttin in more effort into writing this article than the Raptors did against Charlotte. You now get a gold star.
Remember when Wilkens traded away Mark Jackson, he looked at him a few times down the floor and concluded that regardless of his ability to distribute he would not go far with a PG that could not defend his position. That was Mark friggin’ Jackson, 2nd all time assist leader.
Most NBA pundits, agreed. Jackson’s career did not get any brighter, most felt his usefulness on the other side of the ball would be a liability for an elite team. He soon retired.
That kind of call can only be made by coach who has lived in the NBA and knows the talent level necessary to stand with the elite.
As a fan there are only two types of teams worth following:
1. Watching a youth movement with anticipation, growing with the players etc.
2. Watching a contender compete for a championship
In other words, we don’t watch this team with anticipation of what the future will bring and we don’t watch this team to see something special…a championship run.
We can’t win with horrible defenders at the 1 and 5. Those are the anchor points of a defense.
That’s why its time to blow this team up.
ROTD
Wish I knew what ROTD meant.
Rap of the Day, check the sidebar on the front page.
nice…Dave, you said it better than I.
Hope — fans need hope. Either in the present (contender) or the future (rebuilding).
No hope, no purpose. No joy.
So can we conclude that you consider this edition of the Raptors a flawed team with no hope of improvement?
Perhaps the team will get blown up when Bosh departs in 2010, or sooner if BC is able to trade him for a couple of decent players and maybe a draft pick too.
If Bosh has told BC that he wants out of Toronto to return to his own country.. Texas .. BC must respect Bosh’s wishes and get the most he can get for the Raptors. It’s to BC’s advantage to ensure that Bosh is perceived as a max money player who can help bring a championship to a team other than the Raptors.
This team is certainly not an old team. I’m still looking to the future with anticipation of better things and an evolution into a contender. If it takes a trade or two so be it but the last thing we need is to blow up the team and start with a youth movement. There is a lot of room for improvement with these players and I’m looking forward to some exciting enjoyable games. There are a lot of real b ball fans watching teams a lot worse than the Raps
Points 1 and 2 are totally legitimate. Blazers and Hawks are perfect example of point 1.
As far as the Raptors go, it is not time to blow the whole thing up yet, but the next 10 games may be perfect indicator about where this team stands.
We were just got blown out by 35 at the hands of the bobcats…
Last year Sam takes 30 in the chin @ denver and we’re calling for his execution…
35 to the bobcats is like 65 @ denver.
In a way, this team might’ve needed this kind of thorough and complete ass-kicking in order to really show them how tough life can be in the NBA if you’re not serious about defending and playing (at least some) hard-nosed basketball. It was fine and all to beat the crap – offensively, for a half – out of the Pacers the night before. But against a team who looks like they’re being coached in a solid, no-nonsense and professional-NBA manner, they were exposed and embarrassed. So … better now – I’m really hoping – during these first twenty games, when they can wake up and do something about it, perhaps rethinking a few things about what they’re doing or trying to do, than later on when we’ll all just start talking about next year. Maybe during this next stretch, we’ll see what they’re really made of. Hopefully, they don’t turn out to be little more than last year’s Warriors … or Raptors, for that matter.
good point, but they’ve had quite a few lessons now, no? i mean, shouldn’t some of the ass-kickings they’ve been handed so far start to have an impact, either on approach or effort?
i wonder if all this talk about effort, laziness, conditioning, etc., might have something to do not so much with the fact they played the previous night, but the fact that they didn’t take advantage of a hugh lead vs. the pacers & were ‘forced’ to play their key guys later in that game instead of giving them some rest. i’m sure it didn’t make a difference…why, these guys are pros, and should be able to put out at least a professional effort each & every game. right? RIGHT?
Point taken; they should’ve taken advantage the night before when they could’ve closed it out without having to use starters to do so. It’s true that I did believe that this particular second of a back-to-back was going to be the game that showed that last week’s experience, finishing a tough trip with an extremely difficult back-to-back, had taught them something both physically and mentally and we’d see that progress with a win against Charlotte. I was wrong. That said (Curb, anyone?), the game against the Pacers wasn’t exactly the type of game where everybody had to leave it all on the floor to get the job done. Not to my eyes. And if anyone on the team is using, even quietly to themselves, the excuse of that game the night before for the sad display we all saw last night, well … we might have bigger problems than I even thought.
oh, speaking of the warriors…they beat the mavs tues. night playing only 6 guys, againts a rested mavs team. i’m not sure if that says more about the warriors or the mavs…or the raps.
Amen!!!
Hedo looked like he was in a coma !!!
We are still getting into game shape,and gelling !!!!
Upcoming world basketball championship in Turkey this upcoming summer….does that mean Turk will be even more tired next year !!!!
So as I read this article I came to realize something… where is the crticism of Bosh and his horrible, horrible game? For the most part everyone played bad… but Bosh was abysmal on D. How many times is Bosh getting beat or dunked over by Wallace? Where does it get to the point where he says “I’m fouling this guy next time”?
I know we/coaches/team don’t want Bosh in foul trouble (in most situations) but there has to be a point where stopping the other team is more important than Bosh’s foul situation.
Then I ask.. why is the only guy who has it going offensively and was able to take advantage of his size/ability on offense (ie. Andrea Bargnani) against Charlotte not getting touches (hell even minutes) in this game?
There was no reason to not let Bargs have more minutes in that game… yes his defense was bad, but so was the rest of the teams. Atleast he was making progress on offense.
I agree. This team has unselfish players, who can score and move the ball. Yet, we always try to get CB going, even when it’s not working. He takes any shot, and if our interior D is an issue, and he’s the problem, it’s someone else who goes to the bench. At some point, that has to create chemistry problems to have 14 player and one star? Well, people confuse rebounding with D, both are important, but if you’d perfer not to challenge a shot, or to follow your man as he goes away from the basket, just so you can get the board, does that help. Even when Bosh scores 30 + and get’s a lot of boards, it’s no better indicator that we are going to win on that night, so why do we see all these comments about how bad we’ll be if Bosh leaves?
What kind of a message does it send to a team that they sit, while Triano tries to find a unit that works around a guy that’s lethargic on D. Sure he’s getting boards, because he’s looking to get boards, I’d rather he look to challenge shots, or take away looks. Yet, this team has the pressure to have a successful season, just so the guy won’t walk. Its’ like time to ask CB what he values wins, or special treatment. It’s not that I’m saying Bosh is a problem, but in the occasions when he is, if the only to productive guys, Bargs and Amir, have to split minutes, on the night’s he’s struggling, it’s not a recipe for success.
Hedo and Barg’s D were playing no worse than anyone else. And it seems like we gave up on a 17 point game against the Bobcat in the third quarter. I’m glad Bosh had a good rebounding game, but in this game, imo, he did not deserve to be on the court to get them. Those were Amir’s boards, who should have been playing the bulk of the minutes alongside Andrea.
There’s a real trend, Clippers, this One, Memphis, where we pull Bargs as if he’s the fault of our defensive miscues, only to go right into the toilet after the substitution. It seems to me, 4 players are playing a system, while Bosh chooses when he wants to follow script and when he wants to be just guard whoever is in arms reach of where he happens to be standing. At least on a few ocasions you see CB jsut decide to take Bargs’s man, and then Bargs head to try to get out to cover a three point shooter. Later when Bargs wasn’t there, you saw CB just at one point, chose not to bother to even go out and contest. Frustrating game, and form time time it will happen for every player. When that happens, treat him like every player. If we lose, he’s gonna leave anyway.
It made Bargs look real bad, but it was becasue he was the only guy back, most of the time.
Yeah, I completely agree with your analysis. I am actually hating bosh’s play as of late. First of all, have you guys noticed when he hasn’t scored enough points as he should have, he keeps forcing shots when the ball comes to him? It is like he is only playing for stats right now, and not to make the team win. and the rest you explained above.
I also hate triano’s coaching… want to fukin rip his head off. The guys is an actual idiot. First of all, he keeps putting Calderon and Jack together on the floor. So far that has costed us 5 games and only 1 win. ANDD he keeps doing it even though it is not working. No comment on the defense… Also have you guys noticed, whenever one of players like bargs, bosh, or belli are hot, they never get a shot after a time out? I mean commonnnnnn just freakin give them the ball. After every time out our run ends for some reason. Third, he keeps benching poor bargs even though he is hot. Forth, I dont know why, but this season after half time, we almost have lost all the third quarters. And finally, why does this guy keeps talking shit? “yeah our defense is coming alongggg. We just need some time to gel”. I don’t get it, it seems like we have been trying to our defence for a year. After every game he says “we need some time”. I really don’t understand the 3 year signing, after a dysmal season that he coached for us….
Where are any of the other playes willing to commit fouls to stop the other team? If Bosh is saddled with foul trouble they are done as there is no one else who gets to the line and outside of Amir no one else who rebounds consistently on this team.
I agree that Bosh could have been better last night definsively but that could have beeen said for everyone on the team. Sometimes you guys want Chris to do everything including turning water into wine and he ain’t Jesus. And before you talk about ‘well he wants max money’ his teammates get paid handsomely as well.
Do we pay guys 10 million just to score? Do we pay guards 9 mil to solely distribute the ball.
Agree. Bosh cannot do it alone. Jose, Bargnani and especially Hedo are paid way too much for what they (don’t) bring. The length of their contracts is also an issue. We all know who is behind this mess. Shame.
I’m not saying Bosh is solely to blame… quite the opposite, everyone is to blame. But we are all so quick to ignore Bosh’s deficiency and poor games while we jump on Bargs and Jose because “they are such bad defenders”.
Last night is a great example of why our poor defense is NOT just Bargs and Jose’s fault.
When was the last time you can remember bosh being in foul trouble? It doesn’t happen.
Some stats:
Points in the Paint:
Charlotte 74
Toronto 44
Fast Break Points:
Charlotte 44
Toronto 10
Charlotte PPG 85.3 now, 87.9 they’re still 29th…
wow.
Before the game I heard Triano say that they got into town after two in the morning. Why would a coach mention that before a game? Whether he realizes it or not, that comment is an excuse for a lazy tired outing. I just don’t know why he would even have it on his mind let alone verbalize it.
A lot of over reaction to an extremely difficult schedule.
1. Eight game road trip including going to the West Coast
2. 3 games in the last 4 days
3. Second game of back to back
vs
Bobcats who were playing at home with 3 days rest.
I was surprised that the score was this close. There comes a point where ones body just doesn’t have any reserve in the tank and the engine and body just conk out. That is what happened in the 2 half last night against a pretty good Bobcats starting five now that they have added S. Jackson.
First 20 games last year:
11 road games including a trip out west
played cleveland, boston, orlando, denver, lakers.
3 series of back to backs
we won 8 games with what is purported to be a much weaker lineup and a much weaker coach.
I agree with your theory of not having much left, but we have a deeper team with players that seemingly are making it tough for Jay to distribute minutes. Surely as a coach or GM you monitor minutes when you feel you have a tough schedule coming up (ie 3 games in 4 nights). Shorten your bench, allow people to grab a breather, etc.
“I was surprised that the score was this close.”
Did you watch the game at all, Buddahfan? THIS WAS THE LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY IN CHARLOTTE BOBCATS HISTORY. Freakin’ embarrassment.
I hate when people use “second game of a back to back” as an excuse. These are professional athletes who go through this repeatedly throughout the season. It’s nothing new and every team deals with it – most much better than the Raps. I’d buy the fatigue argument if we were talking about a back-to-back-to-back situation. Pa-lease.
And, A-Dub – “I think people are starting to realize over time that Bargnani is flawed as a defensive player” – people realized this fact as soon as he came into the league. He needs to be flawless on offense to make up for his awful defense and while he’s definitely a dynamic offensive player who creates matchup problems, the Raps only truly benefit from his presence when he’s blocking shots and rebounding on the other end (ha!).
The Raps have NO intensity on D and that’s why they can’t defend properly. Watch Barg’s careless body language, Turk’s sleepwalking and Jose flailing his arms. Ugh.
I wouldn’t surprise me to see Johnson sign with Bobcats for next year especially if Brown is still the coach.
Johnson is Brown’s ideal big man. He is everything that Darko wasn’t when Brown was the Pistons coach.
1. Plays hard
2. Keeps himself down on the low block
3. Good hands
4. Finishes at the rim
5. Plays within the system
6. Runs the floor like a deer
7. Good defender
8. Good locker room presence
9. Getting more aggressive on offense
Brown like Triano can live with fouls. There have only been maybe 2 games out of the last dozen or so that have kept Johnson from getting his 20 – 22 minutes a game which is all that Triano is looking for from him right now.
I said I’d comment on this team after 20 games however I saw the poll and I have to make a few comments about coaching. We are the worst defensive team in the history of the NBA. The core is the same as in the last 3 years when we were I believe 14, 20 and 23 defensively in the League. We supposedly brought defensive players during the summer to help the core (except Hedo). Triano had a full training camp to prepare the defensive strategy and schemes. Well, the end result is a colossal failure so far. I guess he needs another training camp to practice other defensive schemes such as zone, box and 1, etc.
Wright gave up and called out Triano already for our defensive schemes. The players are held responsible for the execution when in reality the strategy is wrong. Triano made up his mind about everything and his mind is wrong. He made up his mind since we drafted DeRozan that he’s going to play him 16′ at the beginning of each half and he’s sticking to it. He’s wrong. He made up his mind to play Jack 30 MPG at back-up PG and SG. He’s wrong. He made up his mind we’ll always cover one-on-one and play help defense regardless what. He’s wrong. He made up his mind that we have great offensive players that don’t need an offensive system. He’s wrong: Brown picked our offense apart and it has nothing to do with the back to back.
As a fan I hope we’ll turn it around. I hope Triano’s stuborness is a sign of a great coaching mind that has a successful strategy and sees things three months from now. I suffer immensely right now because I love defense and I always appreciated good defensive schemes and defensive players. As a b-ball player and coach I practiced and preached defence and it hurts right now to watch my favorite team playing pick-up b-ball.
I agree with what you said about the defense.
However, I think that you might agree that the Raptors offense was way below par. Now I realize that some of that had to the Bobcats defense but a lot of it has had to do with the schedules.
Also the ability to execute the defensive schemes was certainly also hampered by the schedule.
Jay, when a player isn’t giving us effort on D, replace him with a player who will! It isn’t rocket-science!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way, as a team, we’re 11th in Blocks Differential (YEA!), 18th in Rebound Differential, 21st in Points Differential, 24th in Assists Differential, and 28th in Steals Differential. It seems that the shorter our players are, the less they can compete in the NBA!!!!!!!!!!!
Well screw it , go for john wall if were gonna play like this.
Raptors will never be good on D with the players we have now. Especially when your franchise player sucks on D to start with, and he does not get any blame whatsoever.
Bargnani – where do I begin? When he dribbles, he looks at the frigging ball. And he always makes up his mind on what he is doing. Even I can predict what he’s gonna do next. Hardly worth 10 million a year. And i didn’t even talk about his team defense yet.
For the love of God can we let this sick experiment end? Can we please pick up Byron Scott a real NBA coach? I can’t even watch the games anymore.
Every scrub in the league salivates and marks there calander when they play the Raptors because they know they will have career games.
Byron Scott as in the guy whose teams lost by 60 in the playoffs and got fired this year for his teams not even competing? No thanks, I’d rather have Triano, at least he destroys a clipboard once in a while. Scott’s got the same look down 20 or up 20, never liked him as a coach. Thought he rode the coattails of this players and assistants.
Aim higher.
Yeah and obviously destroying the clipboard has helped motivate this squad.
Not saying it does. But Byron Scott? Think I’d rather have Mitchell which is a scary thought.
I’d have to agree with you. Wade through all the rhetoric about varied offensive sets and defensive mentality, and you still have mediocre results. Smith got more effort out of his players. Triano might have a better understanding of the game, but coaches are supposed to be more than that. The players and the media may not have liked Smitch, but he got his players to play hard.
This has little to do with the coach. I can’t even believe that these guys can get called out for a lack of effort in the media on ESPN, Hoopsworld etc. and then go out and do that! They have no leadership. I can’t believe the lack of heart. How can they expect anyone to support them with this kind of effort for several games in a row? They should be embarrassed but may that’s the problem….I don’t think they are.
Great summary A-Dub and thank you. Considering I missed the game last night (thankfully) I feel as though I was there after reading this. ;)
Cheers man
Is funny how most people are bashing Bosh when he was the only player that was actually trying last night. What about Turk? He was horrible last night and he was our big splash in free agency. He had zero impact in the game and was abused by Wallace. He needs to get his act together quick. He looked like he didn’t even care about the loss.
Not only that he was horrible last night, I have not seen anything from that guy to warrant the contract he was given. It is insane to give that kind of money to the player who might be good to play 15 minutes a night. Looks like a moving corpse out there.
Bosh is the last person who should be held accountable. How about Jose, Andrea and Hedo? Are they not supposed to be key players on this team besides Bosh?
“Bosh is the last person who should be held accountable
Bosh is the FIRST PERSON who should be held accountable. Who is the franchise player. Who is supposed to be the team leader. Who is supposed to be the anchor of this team. BOSH. If he wants to be the main guy… if he wants the heavy contract… if he wants to be voice and face of this team he is ALWAYS accountable.
It’s on Bosh as well, I agree. The leader always inspires his teammates to be better then they are.He just worries about making all star teams and putting up points. His peers in the L don’t really like the guy either and think he’s soft. Too the media they will be polite but ask any NBA player on the street what they think about Bosh and you will get a negative retort. You put a prime Duncan, KG, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Howard, and we would be playing lock down defense every night.
No, we need Mark Messier. That true leader of men. Sorry, it’s not on one guy to be the leader. The Jordan’s and Kobe’s of the world are rare and even they need help. Remember the crappy Lakers of 2004/05?
This isnt about help. Bosh needs to call out his teammates Monta style.
What do you expect from an idiot general manager? Here’s a guy who when he was thrown out of Phoenix, no other team was willing to even give him an interview. Nothing. Only Richard Peddie took the company jet and went to Phoenix to convince him to come to Toronto. His Dad was the brains behind Phoenix and now Junior is being exposed.
For a guy who was a young executive during the NBA height in the 90’s an saw that defense/rebounding wins rings and got too see the Bulls and Knicks and Heat firsthand, how did his thinking pattern get so flawed that he believes soft, mentally weak, no defense players will also win you a ring?
Calderon and Bargnani? Are you for real. I wouldn’t have them in my summer league, let alone then NBA. They are not NBA players. And it gets better, the same core that led us to piss poor records and can’t seem to win on the road or against an elite team, Bryan signs them to enormous contracts. Jay Triano leads us to 14th in the east and he gets a 3 year contract as well?
He’s a Business Man not a general manager. Make enough quick fixes every year to Jumpstart ticket sales and get the fans into a frenzy. He’s a genius at doing that. No sight, no vision.
Hang on!
He was hardly thrown out of Phoenix. He did not see eye-to-eye with the new owner, so they agreed to part ways.
So, you think that the 47 win team of three seasons ago was a complete fluke? There wasn’t much left from that team when he got here and he threw together a team that ended up playing pretty well. Yes, it was ultimately flawed, but it still won 47 games.
Calderon and Bargnani’s contracts are not enormous by NBA terms. There are plenty of worse ones out there. Are they currently giving value for their contracts? Calderon is a definite no right now and Bargnani is a no or a maybe, depending game to game it seems. But I see Bryan being able to move either one if necessary (although what you would get back for them would be a sideways move at best).
Attendance is in the upper 1/2 or 1/3 of the league since he has been here so I don’t see where he feels the need to spike the attendance to please MLSE.
Do I think he has made mistakes? Yes, but most of the points you are making don’t fit the facts or make sense. Take a breath, think a bit, and then you can make arguments that make sense.
“He’s a Business Man not a general manager. Make enough quick fixes every year to Jumpstart ticket sales and get the fans into a frenzy. He’s a genius at doing that. No sight, no vision.”
Good points. Aside from his first year, when we won Division title (due to crappy teams within division at the time), did you see anything to be optimistic about? Quick first round exits or no playoffs at all.
“but where he lacks in power, he could make-up in technique.” – Arse
Add additional conditioning and a sleek 10 – 15 lbs. he might have some power. Can DeRozen be put into the bench just for a couple of games for a change with gutsier play-makers like Belli and Jack (okay not really play-making, but at least aggressive) so it will really help his scoring confidence and energy level? If Belli can give the ball of to Amir so easily, imagine what he can do for a cutting DeRozen?
I have one thing to say: Bosh is terrible, always was and always will be! He is a starter but NOT a superstar. He will never lead this team to better things and NEVER hits the game winning shot. He hardly ever leads his team from behind for a win and is not a leader. He is a Scottie Pippen with no Jordan. Trade this man when he still worth something to other teams and for God’s sake don’t give him a max contract. If that happen’s the Wizards will win a Championship before Toronto. I love the Raps but this is hard to watch game after game. Do they sell Chris Bosh punching bags? O.K. that was more than one thing but I’m sure you get the point.
Scottie Pippen in his prime would have destroyed Bosh. Wouldn’t be a competition. Defense, offense, mentally, physically, toughness wise, Grit wise, leadership wise.
Bosh on those Bulls teams would not have seen playing time. Rodman, Harper , Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright were better players as well.
I was just using the Pippen thing as a figure of speach but you are correct, Bosh would not have made the Bulls!
And I said it 4 years ago, Bosh is the most overrated player in American Professional sports.
I’m not his biggest fan and think he’s way overrated defensively and relies too much on calls to be very effective in the crunch or playoffs. However your statement is as false today as it was four years ago.
Agreed. If all the current NBA players are in a draft, Bosh is going in the middle of the first round.
How is it possible Joey thinks Pippen a tough small forward would be able to guard Bosh. Bosh would eat him up. Revisionist history aside don’t make Pippen out to be better than he was. Bosh works for all his points. Name another all-star big that has to do so much to get his points? Notice Howard averaging less than 13 points his last 5 games? Compare big men to big men.
This team has too many Europeans on it. Let’s face it, we all know now that you can’t win in the NBA with a euro team. We need to trade either Calderon or bargnani or both.
After enduring the Raptor debacle for 3 quarters last night, I switched over to the Heat-Magic game and watched it to the end … Mia 99 – Orl 98 … great finish !!!!
Tonight I’ll watch the Magic at the Hawks at 8 PM ET on TSN2 … which should be another good game. The Hawks are a true team with no “max money” player.
I think RR should do a recap on some of the more significant games other than the Raptors. That would really upgrade the quality of the website.
I suppose this is the difference between mindless t.h. fans and true bball aficionados …!!!
Um…no.
That’s what espn, yahoo, tsn, score, ten million other websites are for.
The Raps really, REALLY got bitched in this one.
Nothing less than a win against the Celtics will make amends for that pathetic beatdown.