Raptors Republic - ESPN TrueHoop's Raptors Blog

Why all the angst over whether Bosh stays with the Raptors or leaves? As great a player as he is, as good a person as he has seemed to be, as solid a basketball citizen as he has been in Toronto, it hasn’t translated to any real success of any kind for the Raptors.

They have had one great regular season in seven through Bosh’s growing from young man to adult. One great regular season that still wound up with a first-round elimination. This has been Bosh’s best NBA season, yet the Raptors flounder from game to game, month to month lacking an identity, bouncing from disinterest to interest, from no passion to passionate. They are more a collection of players than they are any kind of team.

This is not necessarily Bosh’s doing. It is far easier to point fingers at the general manager, the coach, and the rest of his teammates. But on the court, he’s still the focal point. The player you build around. And through seven seasons, the Raptors have yet to build anything meaningful around Bosh. They don’t contend with him, and soon they may have to adapt to not contending without him.

“It’s like if you look at the schedule right now and see Toronto, I’m sure people are checking something in the win box,” said Bosh, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. “I can understand if we lose the game going down fighting but we’re not fighting at all.

“Time is ticking and it’s counting down, and if we keep playing the way we are right now, we’re going to be on the outside looking in. Guys need to step it up, period.”

The Raptors have lost four straight and eight of nine while seeing their lead over Chicago trimmed to 11/2 games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Three weeks ago, the Raptors closed an 11-2 stretch that put them in contention for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Now they’re struggling just to get into the post-season.

Asked what Toronto needs to do to turn things around, Bosh — the franchise leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots — was succinct in his reply.

“Just do it. Act like you care,” he said. “I’m going down playing offence on (the Warriors) side of the court and their bench is louder than we are. That doesn’t make any sense. They’re not playing for anything.

“We’re trying to make the playoffs, maybe get a fifth seed, but that’s like slipping every day. This isn’t playoff basketball.”

Seething might be the best word to describe Chris Bosh, his anger barely under control as he stood at his locker.

His words were clipped, his stare intense, his message clear.

The Raptors are playing horribly and something has to be fixed soon or the season will be lost.

The Golden State Warriors had just hammered them 124-112 and Bosh was as mad as he’d been all season. The Raptors were done in Saturday night by a wretched third quarter that saw them surrender 41 points

"We just don’t like to secure a lead and we don’t like to win basketball games, that’s the only thing I can think of," said facetiously.

"We come out here, we talk about it, we have a billion meetings but we can talk all we want. Unless we do it, it really doesn’t matter. We talk about the third quarter, we talked about the third quarter (Friday), we talked about it at shootaround (Saturday) and we go out and do the same thing. I don’t know."

Globe and Mail

Toronto scored 35 points in the first quarter but stumbled through most of the second, going more than 6 minutes without a basket while allowing Golden State to erase a 10-point deficit and take a 45-42 lead.

Calderon helped the Raptors snap out of their offensive funk briefly with three 3s over the final 4 minutes of the half and Jack added his own 3 with 43.8 seconds left to help give Toronto a 60-56 halftime lead.

But the Warriors took control for good in the third quarter, going on a 25-6 run keyed by an onslaught from the perimeter.

Golden State, which was 7 of 12 on 3-pointers in the first half, went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc in the third and built a 15-point lead Toronto never challenged.

National Post

Bosh needs 31 points to become the first player in Raptors history to reach 10,000 in a career. … Toronto is winless in four games since Bosh returned to the lineup after a seven-game absence due to a sprained left ankle. … Golden State’s franchise record for 3-pointers in a single game is 18, reached three times. Most recently the Warriors did it against Memphis on Jan. 3, 2007, though they had 46 attempts. … The Warriors have beaten the Raptors six straight times at home.

Sporting News

Hedo Turkoglu will make his lone appearance in Portland this season. He reportedly gave a verbal commitment to join the Blazers in July but later backed out to sign with Toronto.

Turkoglu, though, hasn’t matched the level of production from his five previous seasons in Orlando – averaging 12.0 points on 40.8 percent shooting.

He’s averaged 6.5 points and shot 32.5 percent over his past six games, but scored 24 in the loss to Portland while hitting 8 of 9 shots. Turkoglu has averaged 24.7 points on 57.9 percent shooting in his last six games against the Blazers.

Roy led Portland with 20 points in the win, and Andre MIller contributed 18 and 10 assists.

Portland, which has won six of seven at home against Toronto, is trying to sweep the Raptors for the second straight season.

OregonLive

Although the Blazers say they have moved past Turkoglu’s last-minute change of heart, there is no denying the process has left scars.
"I thought the way he handled that whole situation … I thought he could have handled it in a different way," McMillan said last month before the Blazers played in Toronto. "Some of the things he said, some of the things he did, he didn’t have to do that or say that."
McMillan said Turkoglu told him he would sign with the Blazers during a July dinner in Orlando, after which McMillan told Turkoglu that he should first visit the city of Portland.

"You know, I don’t really want to get into it," McMillan said. "But I heard those words … and then all of the sudden he is in Toronto. And that’s OK. But it could have been handled differently. In saying you’re coming, and committing … of course, you have the right to change your mind. So hey, he’s made his decision and we’ve moved on."

Golden State of Mind

The Raptors stink: No defense, no rebounding, and no shooters is an interesting way to build a team. The Warriors, a team that has lost the rebounding battle by an average of 20 over the last 5 games, outrebounded the Raptors. That’s pathetic. Fearless prediction: No playoffs. Not so fearless prediction: Bosh is gone.

Blazersedge

1. The Raptors have been getting knocked silly since we last saw them, losing 7 of 8. Coincidentally (or not) their only victory came in the only game in which they held their opponent under 100 points, a 102-96 jaunt over the New York Knicks. Other than that the 109 points they allowed to the L*kers last Tuesday marked the fewest points they’ve given up. The upper end ranges into the 124 territory versus Golden State and 126 in an overtime game against the Cavaliers. There have been a couple of close games but for the most part the Raptors have been getting handled.

2. Hedo Turkoglu returns to Portland tonight after his brief dalliance with the Blazers’ brain-trust this summer. He’s had ankle issues and has been performing poorly. I assume it wouldn’t break Blazer fans’ hearts to see him continue that trend.

New York will be left with the option of trying to woo Dwyane Wade away from South Beach or be stuck with becoming the new Toronto Raptors, giving Chris Bosh a max deal to be the top guy in exchange for first-round eliminations at best year after year. Doesn’t that sound appealing?
There’s always Atlanta’s Joe Johnson or Memphis’ Rudy Gay to pair with Bosh, but a team led by either Johnson or Gay and Bosh without much talent around them doesn’t sound like a team that will be an NBA title contender.

San Francisco Chronicle

Ellis scored 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting, reaching the 30-point plateau for the first time since Feb. 3 against Dallas. The undersized Warriors, who had one healthy player taller than 6-foot-9 and dressed nine or fewer players for the 35th time this season, found their advantage on the perimeter.

Toronto (32-32), which has lost eight of its past nine games including five straight on the road, started a frontline that was a combined foot taller than the Warriors’ threesome. The Warriors (18-47) won for just the fifth time in their past 24 by keeping the game outside the paint.

OregonLive

About the Blazers: Tonight’s projected starting lineup has won six consecutive games and is 7-1 this season, with its only loss coming in overtime at Chicago. … The Blazers, with a 110-94 win over Sacramento Friday night, have won their last nine games against teams with losing records. … Portland is a season-high 12-games over .500. … When the Blazers played the Raptors in February, Miller upstaged one-time free-agent target Turkoglu by finishing with 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in a convincing win. … In his last three games, Roy is averaging 29.3 points and is shooting 63 percent from the field (32-for-51). … Portland has won eight of its last 10 games. … Tonight’s game is one of three remaining for the Blazers against teams from the Eastern Conference. The Blazers are 14-7 against the east thus far.
Series history: The Blazers have won three in a row and four of the last five in the series, including 101-87 in Toronto on Feb. 24. Portland holds an 18-9 all-time edge, including a 9-4 advantage at the Rose Garden.

Mercury News

Ellis and Curry dominated on both ends.

On offense, Curry and Ellis combined for 66 points on 25-for-43 shooting. Curry had 10 assists and six rebounds. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.

On defense, Ellis made a big contribution. Toronto guard Jose Calderon had 22 points and seven 3-pointers through three quarters. With Ellis defending him in the fourth, Calderon had two points.

Ellis (two steals on the night) and Curry (four steals) spearheaded a scrappy defense that finished with 11 takeaways.

And with forward Anthony Tolliver containing Raptors big man Chris Bosh — who finished with 24 points but was hardly dominant — the Warriors didn’t come close to blowing a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead again.

Curry scored seven straight points during one stretch, including 3-pointer that put the Warriors up 111-98.

Then after an Ellis bank shot, Curry chased down a loose ball and saved it as he fell out of bounds. It went right to forward Corey Maggette, who converted it into a fast-break layup.

RaptorsHQ

Hedo was his usual terrible self, a solid 2 of 6 from the field for 4 points. "Oooh but he had 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks" some might say.

To that I say shut it.

This isn’t fantasy basketball, this guy is being paid $53 Million to make sure losses like this don’t happen. If he needs to take 20 shots and score 30 points for it to happen, so be it. At least that way I could stomach his half-hearted rebounding attempts.

And speaking of rebounding, that brings me to Andrea Bargnani. Again, for those who think I’ve been too harsh on him the past few months I’d love to hear a defence of his performance last night, when he was outrebounded 11 to 4 by a player a good 3 to 4 inches shorter than him who wasn’t even drafted. I’m sorry but you just can’t win games like that. The Warriors are one of the worst rebounding clubs in the league and yet they won the battle of the glass last night, despite the fact that their average height is probably 6-6.

Fan590

Smith Says:
- “I am beyond bewildered.”

Jones Says:
- “The lack of effort defensively is perplexing.”

RaptorBlog

At this point, I can’t fathom why we should root for the Raptors to make the playoffs since it will only mean a guaranteed first-round slaughter and no 2010 draft pick (because the Raptors’ first round pick goes to Miami if the Raptors make the playoffs). I suppose you could make the case that Chris Bosh would be more likely to re-sign with the team if they make the playoffs, but is he going to be that much more impressed by being a member of the worst team in the playoffs than he would be by a non-playoff team? This team in its current formation is unfixable — at the very least, it can’t be fixed by this coaching staff.

The Zan Tabak Herald

Good teams go through bad spurts all the time. It is impossible in the long NBA season not to go through stretches where the team doesn’t play to their potential and ability. The Raptors have chosen the wrong time to play their worst ball of the season and someone needs to do something about it. Chris Bosh looked downright angry after the game and the Raptors could use a little bit more of that fire. I have been waiting all season for someone to call the team out and take charge of the locker room. Call all the team meetings you want, fly in Colangelo to talk to the team if you like, but something or someone has to light a fire under the players. Tonight Chris Bosh called his teammates out. It was long overdue but someone had to do it. Someone has to do the dirty work of reminding this team that they are not doing the things that need to be done to win. Let’s see if this can ignite a fire in that dressing room. I expect an angry squad on Sunday night in Portland.

RaptorTalk

It began when Jay Triano, with Colangelo’s blessing, allowed Hedo Turkoglu to casually work his way into shape. No sense of urgency from the coach set the tone for what has become a laissez-faire season.
In October and November, Triano expressed no worries and repeatedly offered up a laundry list of lame rationalizations as to why the Raptors were under-performing. And he’s kept the excuses coming all season long. After the recent loss to Philly, Jay suggested that the team’s lacklustre performance may have been a result of an early start time, coupled with the need to then immediately catch a flight to LA that resulted in a ‘lack of focus’.
Give me a break! I’ve never heard a coach with more implausible excuses than Triano. For once I wish Jay would strap on a pair and take responsibility when things go wrong.

Raptors Roll Call March 13 vs Warriors

Scott — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:37:15 +0000

The “first NBA team to lose to a D-League team” edition.

Banks – the time has come to put Evans in a suit and to return Marcus to his rightful place: in a uniform.

Bargnani – Not reflected in what is a pretty weak stat line is the fact he showed aggression, something 3/4 of his teammates lacked tonight. Of course I’m only referring to his offensive game. Could have used his “rebounding talents” tonight. I also could have used a stiff drink.

Belinelli – Jay played the guy-going-up-against-his-old-team card to the expected result: 0 points. Marco did receive a nice hand from the Golden State crowd when he checked in, but I’m sure most of that came from fans happy to see the back end of the guy.

Bosh – I witnessed something tonight that I thought I’d never see: an all-star undeserving of a double double. You have a leader playing with no heart and no mental toughness and the apparent unwillingness to hold his teammates accountable. Inexcusable. 6 turnovers, no hustle, and apparently punching his ticket out of town.

Calderon – now on to someone worthy of a double double. He started off a bit timid, if not disinterested. Then a light went off in his head, he hit back-to-back 3s to give his team a spark, and he ended up hitting a career high in made 3s (7). In a dessert tray full of rice pudding, he was a dish of fresh strawberries.

DeRozan – came out playing well and, surprisingly, was on the floor at the end of the game. His confidence may be building and the point production is starting to come around, but his defence and his desire to amass fouls is hurting this team.

Evans – in a game that screamed out for your best defenders, Reggie Evans never saw the floor. Jay is a wise man. As mentioned above, get ye self to a linen store and get measured up for some fresh new suits.

Jack – far from his usual game, but we are getting used to his lapses every few games. Shame since I was looking forward to the Curry/Jack battle. Never became a battle….it was more like playing 2k10 using just the right trigger button.

Johnson – the beginning of his night was something out of a Hollywood script. A massive block, hitting almost every shot he took, rebounded well in traffic and then he lived up to his usual standard by committing his share of fouls. Second best player in a Raptors uniform tonight.

Nesterovic – things that would never happen: people with media access asking tough questions, the Raptors selling out any game from now until the playoffs, Adnan Virk actually being funny, and Rasho seeing the floor in Golden State.

O’Bryant – starting to hit the sack every night hoping to be included in the Bosh sign and trade.

Turkoglu- he may be a nightmare pickup for this NBA team, but he is a fantasy team’s wet dream. He fills up stat sheets like his coach fills up reporters recorders with lame ass excuses. Hedo really is like a sloth. Slow moving, determined and easily winded.

Weems – start calling him Vegas, because it’s like rolling dice watching him play every night. He showed some athleticism tonight but he needs to embrace what he can do and use it game in and game out. He can beat guys, he can jump over guys for boards, and he can defend. Do it.

Wright – know when you come home after a hard day of work only to find your dog has crapped in your new pair of slippers? Well, tonight Antoine was your dog and the Raptors were your slippers. It’s not a stretch to say he brought next to nothing tonight and played 6 minutes more than he should have. Expect a bounce back in Portland.

Driving The Bus: Jose Calderon

Under The Bus: Antoine Wright

Game Theme:

Gameday: Raptors vs Warriors – Mar 13/10

Arsenalist — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:33:00 +0000

On paper we win this, but on paper we should’ve also won against Philadelphia and Sacramento. It’s a matchup of the third and fourth highest scoring teams, and the worst and third-worst defensive teams. The Warriors have 17 wins on the season and have lost six straight by an average of 10.2 points. I wish their recent poor run would fill me with some sort of confidence heading into this one but no such luck. Wait, maybe this will: Our 10-26 record against teams over .500 might make you question whether we can handle good teams, but there’s no doubt about whether we can kick the crap out of the minnows: we’re a whopping 22-5 against teams under .500.

This back-to-back thing, we’re 4-10 in them and the wins have come against New York, New Jersey, Washington and Chicago. The only road win has come against New Jersey so with all due respect to the Raptors, tomorrow night in Portland is a write-off. I hope Triano sees this as the gettable game and goes all out instead of holding back for Portland or Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The Warriors have been hit by injuries and have lost Andris Biedrins, Kelenna Azubuike, Raja Bell, Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright for the season. Even that doesn’t fill me with confidence because you just know one of their scrubs will be eyeing this game as a chance to get some points on the board. My pick for who that scrub will be is C.J Watson, profiled here by our TrueHoop colleagues or of course, the great rookie Stephen Curry. Even though the Warriors are clearly a rather pathetic injury-riddled squad, the oddsmakers seem to have little faith in the Raptors making them only a 1.5 point favorite. I really am torn which way this game will go. Also of note, this will be Monta Ellis’ second game back after missing the previous six due to a back injury.

I’m sure this will be an up-and-down no-defense game but as with any NBA game, it’ll come down to playing fourth quarter defense (or in our case, third quarter defense). After a fairly solid first half, we gave up 43 in the third quarter, the Warriors did something similar against Portland. They led them 96-83 heading into the fourth but scored just nine points in the final quarter. They shot 3-14 shots and had six turnovers in the fourth, completely blowing their solid play of three quarters (shot 53%). RaptorTalk did some analysis of our third-quarter struggles and concluded that Jay Triano’s talk at halftime does us no good.

This will be Marco Belinelli’s first game back in Golden State so I’m looking forward to seeing him in the first half tonight. If I don’t, Triano doesn’t know what he’s doing. We’ll need to maybe even see if he can use his length to cover Curry as I’m sure PG defense is going to be a high-priority after Beno Udrih’s impersonation of an in-prime Isiaiah Thomas. We cannot expect Calderon and Jack to cover these types of guards, if they would’ve been able to do it they would’ve done it by now. It’s time to start getting creative defending this position and perhaps even throw Marcus Banks out there who I recall as someone wanting to play defense.

Tom Liston was busy flogging dead horses on Friday night and trying to come up with a starting lineup that would fix our issues. He concludes that replacing Wright with DeRozan makes the starting lineup better defensively, yeah, no kidding? Other than Bosh’s offense and Jack’s desire to get to the rim, there’s hardly a consistent element on this team and even though Wright might have a couple good games (after doing nothing for the last 8 – 16/56, 29% + countless blown coverages) by getting the nod as a starter, there is simply no way he’ll maintain that level of play for more than 4 or 5 games and we’ll be having this same discussion two weeks from now.

DeRozan should not have played the entire third quarter against Sacramento, as much as I like him his defense has been disappointing and he should’ve been yanked after failing to fight through the pick set on him in the first minute. However, to state that taking him out of the starting lineup is going to mend some of our problems is a fallacy, the first quarter has been DeRozan’s strongest, he gets about 50% of his points in the first and is very attack-minded, something you need to be early in games. I hardly care though, take him out or leave him in, players like him are red-herrings when it comes to identifying problems.

There’s an article in the Star today which is talking about how the Raptors have been plagued by injury. Really? Losing 96 man-games is now considered being ‘plagued’? Especially when Reggie Evans accounts for 51 of them which the article fails to mention. From what I recall, the only significant injury we’ve had is to Chris Bosh recently and to Jose Calderon a while back. Injury cannot be used as an excuse this season.

Taking a quick reluctant peek at the standings we find that the Raptors are now in 8th spot after wins by Miami and Charlotte. The good news is that we’re three ahead of Chicago in the loss column who, like us, also blew a back-to-back road assignment (Miami and Orlando). They’ve lost 7-straight and have road dates with Memphis and Dallas before returning home to face Cleveland. Chuck Swirsky must be pulling his hair out. If the Raptors current slide continues, we have every chance of making the playoffs only because Chicago is playing awful basketball. Question becomes what does making the playoffs really mean if it’s going to happen like that? BTW, there is no chance for another team to come and steal that 8th spot as Detroit in 10th is a full 10 games back of the Raptors.

Finally, March Madness is around the corner and we’re having a pool. Get the info here, create the bracket and prepare to have your ass kicked.

GSW tonight, let’s do this now. Love the late-night games.

Toronto Raptors Morning Coffee March 13

Scott — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:10:49 +0000

"We as coaches have almost double our work because our personnel changes," Triano said. "And when our personnel changes, our strengths change.

"If we don’t know who is going to be there any night, it doubles or triples our work because we have to double and triple our preparation."

While coaches have to adjust, players who are hurt have to adapt and there are those on the team who know they’ll only play when someone’s down with an injury. That has an impact on their preparation.

It’s all-encompassing problem for a team.

Take, for instance, Marcus Banks, who only plays when one of Calderon or Jack goes down. He can’t sit there and hope someone gets hurt, nor can he predict when his number will be called, but he knows sometime it will.

"Of course, you don’t want a guy to go down and be hurt, but I have to stay ready just in case something does happen," Banks said. "It’s a long season. I have to be here for the team.

"I actually do the same thing every single game day, no matter if I play or not. I’m going to condition for 45 minutes, I’m going to get a lift in, basically do a hot tub and things like that. I prepare exactly the same way."

National Post

THE WARRIORS

Who’s hot Golden State’s high-octane offence must be salivating at the thought of seeing Toronto’s dismal defence.

Who’s not The Warriors are actually worse than the Raptors at stopping the other team. At 17-47, their offensive output is cold when they allow opponents more than 111 points per game.

“She’s notorious, she’s the king, the king,” says Raptors forward-guard Antoine Wright. He says even when he played with the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks, the word would be to “get up with Mona when we get to Toronto.”

“She got us about 15 wins this year,” says Wright. “Throwing those Saturday night parties works great. She needs a raise.” In a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week, the New York Knicks’ Toney Douglas and Tracy McGrady also bigged up Halem’s bashes.

Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

While many diehard Raptors fans will hate to see the "franchise" Chris Bosh moved, I would argue that comparing Bosh and Lee is like comparing apples to apples. I think all NBA analysts would agree that while Bosh might have a better offensive game, Lee has a greater "motor" for the game. Both players rebound and play average "D". I do however believe Lee would fit in very well with the starting lineup of the Raptors as he demands less touches than Bosh, allowing for the continued improvement of players such as DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani. Turkoglu has also been quoted that he doesn’t mind seeing more "Ball". On the other side of the border in New York, this deal would have them batting 0.500 for their 2010 free agent shopping spree. While New York’s dream of landing LBJ should never come true, Joe Johnson is rumoured as another piece of the puzzle.

Sportsnet

To quote my man Devs, "The Raptors got tendencies." And right now the tendencies are reverting back to the ones that were present at the start of the season putting head coach Jay Triano is in a bit of a quandary. It’s that time of the season when the line-up should be solidified for the stretch run to try and make the playoffs, but you have to wonder if he is contemplating line-up changes.

"We haven’t made any decisions right now," Triano said. "I don’t think anybody played themselves into a spot or out of a spot (the other night in Sacramento)."

"Maybe too many guys played themselves out of spots, and not enough guys played themselves into spots," laughed Triano. "Now that would be a change if we played with three guys."

QMI

Maybe the boos that will rain on Hedo Turkoglu will knock some sense into the underachieving Raptors small forward, whose every step forward has been followed by three steps backward in Toronto.

On Sunday, Turkoglu makes his first trip to Portland, where the basketball faithful is among the most rabid and educated in the NBA.

The team’s fan base has long memories. And not so long ago, Turkoglu spurned the Trail Blazers to sign with the Raptors, an off-season move that was hailed in Hogtown.

As the Raptors prepare to play the host Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, the team continues to wait for Turkoglu to be that consistent presence they thought they had acquired at considerable cost.

It may yet happen, but as of today, no off-season move has resulted in so little return and so much disappointment than Turkoglu. If there’s been a bigger bust, it’s hard to find one.

The Raptors backed their way out of fifth in the East during Chris Bosh’s injury and now sit in a virtual tie with Charlotte and Miami. And the Raptors still have to face the Bobcats, Heat, and Bulls one more time.

With 19 games remaining, the Raptors have nine home dates and face 11 teams in playoff contention. They play a top four conference contender six times.

Beleaguered Sports Fan

The NBA championship is the hardest to win of all the major sports leagues. Plug the numbers in, look at the list of champions, and 99 times out of a 100, the Raps won’t stand a chance. With the exception of the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, you basically need either the best player in the league, or two of the 20 best players in the league. And a supporting cast of players that would be one of the best players on any middling team. And really good defense.

Reading the tea leaves, Toronto will not have this formula. Not in the direction that Bryan Colangelo has the team pointed in. Not this year, and not in the next five. I hate saying this because I have been happy with the moves he’s made at the time he made them. And the truth is, I don’t know if he could have done any better at the time. If MLSE hadn’t re-upped this year, another organization would have snatched him up immediately. Executives of his pedigree are not easy to find. If you let go of him, who do you replace him with? Bill Simmons?

Look, when things were going well like they were from late December to the end of February, this team was a lot of fun to watch. The offensive juggernaut needed barely passable defense to win games. Different guys were stepping up on different nights, and it seemed that depth was one of their strengths. Now the peanut gallery is chiming in about the rotation not being tight enough and how guys are being given too much rope and not having to face any real repercussions for missed defensive assignments and poor shot selection.

Khandor’s Sports Blog

Here’s the contribution from yours truly, regarding how the Raptors lost their game earlier this week against the LA Lakers, on yet another clutch jump shot by Black Mamba:

Raptors Rapture

The Raptors western road trip continues on Saturday night, when the boys from Toronto make a stop in Golden State to take on the consistently battered and bruised Warriors. For the Raptors the game marks the 3rd of the trip, with both of the first two contributing to the team’s loss column.

As we hit the stretch-run of the regular season the Raptors are in desperate need of a win. Most chances are that by the end of the night, the Raptors will find themselves in the 8th seed of the Eastern Conference -with only the 9th place Bulls playing equally as poor as our boys.

RaptorsHQ

It’s not going to be easy for the Raptors to get back on track in the next couple of games. Tonight they face a Warriors team that is much better at home than on the road and then in the second half of the back to back face a dangerous Portland team that has battled through its fair share of adversity this season.

I don’t give the Raps much of a chance to win the second game, so unless they intend on laying a goose egg on this road trip they must win tonight.

Frankly I don’t have high hopes. For a team that is once again searching for a defensive identity, facing the Warriors in their building is not exactly what the doctor ordered. The Warriors are the second highest scoring team in the league at 107.2 points per game and are likely eager to face a team that both provides little resistance and seems to have a plethora of off the court issues to deal with.

Too Many Cooks, Part 2 – And “Who Should Start/Finish”?

Tom Liston — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:57:35 +0000

I would like to beat a dead horse – bear with me.

Let me briefly revisit the Jack-Calderon-Turkoglu end-of-game combination.
The final straw for me likely occurred a while back, but the “final final” straw occurred Tuesday night against the Lakers. With the game tied at 96 apiece, our infamous lineup was assembled to close out the game. Triano’s traditional defense to the media is that he likes having several ball handlers and shooters in these situations. The argument is based on the desire to protect the ball, have good ball movement and have the most effective scoring options. Our argument against is summed up best by the National Post’s Eric Koreen who simply said “too many cooks” in a tweet. So what happened in the last 5:45 minutes of the Lakers game with that lineup?

Our ball handling threesome combined for 2 costly turnovers, only 1 assist and shot 0 for 4 from beyond the arc – in almost six minutes of play. Chris Bosh made the lonely three (more than the others combined) and also had more assists than those three combined.

Statistically, it remains (well almost) the worst lineup. We just give up way too much on the defensive end as well as rebounding with this combination.

The lineup’s Defensive Rating is 126.1 (!!!) versus the team’s already brutal average of 112.5. The lineup’s defensive rebound % is 58.8%, well below the 66.4% of the average lineup. And to top it all off, the offensive rating is only a couple points better than average. Too many cooks indeed.

So who should start and who should finish?

With the embarrassing (due to lack of defensive effort) losses to Philadelphia and Sacramento, there is increased talk about shaking up the starting lineup – and why not, it cannot get much worse. Doug Smith hints that Calderon and Wright might replace Jack and DeRozan
I may be an idiot according to someone who’s opinion I have a ton of respect for, but here’s likely the best option (statistically) for the Raptors starting – given that I think (realistically) you need to have Turkoglu and Bargnani starting:

Jack, Jarrett – Wright, Antoine – Turkoglu, Hedo – Bargnani, Andrea – Bosh, Chris

Statistically there’s a lot of noise, but this lineup is slightly better than one with Calderon starting. And, at the risk of using “common sense”, Calderon seems better suited coming off the bench. He also pairs nicely with Johnson.

Before I get roasted by defending Wright (well, I still will regardless)…

Besides what the numbers tell us, I prefer Wright for one key reason: we desperately need to improve our defense at the wings. And we need to match our best wing defender on our opponent’s best wing – who, of course, always starts. He improves the team’s defensive rating and offensive rebounding rate as well. Remember how well he guarded Kobe’s two last second shots (despite the fact Kobe made one)?
And yes, his PER is terrible. While hot in January, his eFG% has dropped significantly as of late. I’ve been known to shout at the TV at his poor shot selection.

So why have him start?! I’d try it for two reasons:

It balances out our weaknesses in our starting lineup – and with four scorers, we shouldn’t be desperate for offensive production from him.
You challenge him back.

It seems to me like there are two main ways to handle these comments by a player:

Sit his butt at the end of the bench (usually preferred)
Sit down with him before the game and shove it back at him “Okay, if you’re going to talk the talk, you’d better walk the walk. The intensity on defense is our biggest weakness. You can lead by example. You’re starting – back up your comments – the challenge is yours”

Inserting Wright into the starting lineup isn’t likely “the answer” but I believe it optimizes a tough situation (overall weakness at the wing). Triano should also communicate that he’s to limit his shots – and being with the offensive minded starting lineup, he won’t feel the need to force things.

Let’s be clear, none of our wings this year are standouts (Turkoglu included so far) – so how to we maximize them?

Politics and sensitivities exist – hence by view to continue to start both Turkoglu and Bargnani.
Mid-game I would want to see plenty of Calderon-Weems-DeRozan-Johnson-Bosh.
You have a balance of ball handling, athleticism, shooting, rebounding and defense.

But what about closing the game out?
This is, of course, situation dependent.
Close game or ahead:
Jack, Jarrett – Wright or Weems – Turkoglu, Hedo – Johnson, Amir – Bosh, Chris
Just enough cooks, just enough shooters, just enough defense and just enough rebounding
Bargnani should not play in this situation due to significant negative impact on rebounding and defense.

If significantly behind (and little time left):
Jack or Calderon – Belinelli, Marco – Turkoglu, Hedo – Bargnani, Andrea – Bosh, Chris

And finally – when you know you’re getting a timeout and can trade offense for defense and vice-versa:
Off: Jack or Calderon – Belinelli, Marco – Turkoglu, Hedo – Bargnani, Andrea – Bosh, Chris
Def: Jack, Jarrett – Weems, Sonny – Wright, Antoine – Johnson, Amir – Bosh, Chris

And finally, a “must read”

Breaking It Down: Anticipating the action

Arsenalist — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:33:35 +0000

This was supposed to be a 2-play post made right after the Lakers game but NBA Playbook stole my thunder by reviewing the Kobe game-winner. Kobe’s heroics might’ve stolen the show that night but another, seemingly innocuous play caught my eye. Here’s a defensive possession from the first half where it’s evident what the Lakers are about to do, but only one Raptor anticipates the action while the one that was supposed to see it coming, didn’t move an inch.

Pau Gasol is setting a screen on DeMar DeRozan who has issues dealing with stronger, physical players on the perimeter. In this case, Gasol’s screen is about to clear him out completely and since a great player like Kobe Bryant has the ball, Bosh will be forced to pay attention to him so a drive down the middle can be prevented. Turkoglu is guarding Artest, Jack is checking Fisher and Bargnani is defending Bynum (not pictured). In fact, Bargnani’s man is so far away from the action that he could easily be the one helping DeRozan instead of Bosh who is about to be burned by a Gasol roll and a nifty Kobe bounce-pass.

Bosh’s hedge didn’t work and Kobe has split the Bosh/DeRozan double with a sweet bounce pass to Gasol whose only hurdle getting to the rim is Hedo Turkoglu, who has been anticipating the action all along. Unfortunately for the Raptors, he’s not a great help defender and shouldn’t be asked to make such a long rotation. He’s also guarding Ron Artest who is a 38% 3-point shooter and shouldn’t be given a clean look. Jarrett Jack should also not be leaving his man Fisher who is a 36% 3-point shooter. The man in position to help here is Andrea Bargnani whose man Andrew Bynum is completely out of the play at this point. Bargnani can afford to help on Gasol without fear of Bynum burning him. Unlike Turkoglu or Jack, Bargnani also possesses the size to deal with Gasol at the rim if it ever gets that far. Also unlike Turkoglu or Jack, notice that Bargnani is not looking at the ball and not concerned with the help situation that is about to develop. You could also argue that Bargnani has no business being that far away from the rim since Bynum is not a perimeter threat.

To Turkoglu’s credit, he has made a good rotation to meet Gasol at the rim, however it doesn’t matter as this is a situation which which is likely to result in 1) a personal foul on Turkoglu 2) an And1 or 3) a layup. There is no way Turkoglu can block this shot. There is a possibility that he could’ve picked up a charge if he had rotated beyond the circle but the action developed too fast for that to happen and he had to cover a lot of distance. Jack might’ve had a better chance to pick up a charge (much like he did against New York on the game-winning sequence) but he’s concerned with Fisher’s shooting ability. The guilty party here is Bargnani who had every opportunity to help but didn’t.

Just some of the questions to think about: Is Triano’s defensive plan that Turkoglu makes that rotation? Did DeRozan do enough to fight through the pick? Should Bosh have been more aware of the situation and dropped back and dealt with Gasol, leaving Kobe-coverage to someone else? Did Turkoglu fail at his job or were we asking too much of him? Would playing the 2-3 zone been a better option for us?

Toronto Raptors Morning Coffee March 12

Scott — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:17:41 +0000

"You’ve got to take away some of the freedom around here, what guys have," said Wright, offering the coaching staff some unsolicited advice. "(The players’) leash is not going to be as loose as it’s been. If you’re not doing what (the team) needs you to do, you’re going to have to come out of the game. That’s the only way to address (the situation) right now at this point in the season."

Wright’s agenda has been no secret from the beginning of training camp, when he began lobbying for the spot in the starting lineup still occupied by rookie DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan has long been underperforming on defence, where he is known for a wandering attention to detail. (Go figure that he was the only Raptor to play all 12 minutes of Wednesday’s disastrous third quarter, wherein the Kings shot an astounding 75 per cent from the field and outscored Toronto by a season-high spread 43-23.) So as shameless as his campaigning has been, inserting Wright into the first five is perhaps the simplest way to jostle the Raptors out of their current slumber.

But long-time NBA observers might also humbly suggest that Triano might think about making some additional hard choices, and soon, specifically by paring down the rotation as the regular season’s 19-game home stretch continues Saturday and Sunday at Golden State and Portland. Amir Johnson and Reggie Evans, for instance, have been largely splitting minutes as the off-the-bench energy guy. Neither has been particularly effective and Evans has been downright sullen occupying half a role.

National Post

But hey, it’s the time for fever dreams, which helps to explain the imaginary trades. Like, say, offering Jose Calderon and the expiring contracts of Marcus Banks and Reggie Evans to Washington for — wait for it — Gilbert Arenas.

Yes, the message here is let me do the panicking for you.

To be clear: All this exists only in this writer’s imagination. General manager Bryan Colangelo couldn’t even talk about if I asked him, but that road has yet to be seriously considered, since it’s fraught with what-ifs. Also, insanity.

Among the what-ifs — after whether Arenas will be imprisoned, whether his contract will be voided, whether he is able to cross the border after his sentencing on a little gun felony that you may have heard about — is whether or not Chris Bosh stays. Which, given the events of the past three weeks, doesn’t look quite as appetizing a concept for the young all-star as it did back when people were wondering whether the Raptors could catch Boston in the standings.

And so clearly, something needs to happen.

Canoe

When the Raps got off to their slow start to the season, Antoine Wright was the only player to publicly question how they defended. Following Sunday’s alarming home loss to Philadelphia, Wright again raised questions about the team’s focus and mindset.

It made for good copy on a team not known for colourful commentary. But Wright was right in his assessments, though the words would have carried more weight had one of the team’s core players spoken up.

Bosh has been asked to do a lot in Toronto and he has handled every responsibility with grace, maturity and humility.

He is not able to play at a dominant level because of his inactivity, but it will come. Chances are pretty good it will arrive on Saturday against the up-tempo Golden State Warriors, who have no one capable of stopping Bosh.

It’s not in his character to rip his team, but Bosh must now go out of character. His voice is the only one that matters inside the Raptors locker room.

Toronto need to take a long hard look at themselves, and try to get a grip on the situation that’s unfolding. It’s not like the team doesn’t have quality talent, it does.

It’s the fact that most of that quality talent such as Weems, Johnson, and DeRozan are still unproven despite their steady play as of late.

If the Raptors were to fail in their attempt to qualify for the post-season, should the blame be squarely aimed at Jay Triano?

Or should Colangelo come the realize that his ‘magic’ may in fact not be so magical, or instead bring in personal fave coach Mike D’Antoni into the mix?

Would trading Chris Bosh in fact signal the end of all possibilities for Toronto, or would it be the final ‘turning point’ of the franchise as so many would put it as?

These questions are of yet to be answered, and Colangelo and company have nothing to hide nor should even try to hide anything now that the floodgate could open should the Raptors not make the cut at all.

So let’s consider the possiblity of trading Chris Bosh. Depending on how you might see it, trading Bosh could in fact work in the Toronto Raptors favor.

ESPN

For whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked out for Hedo with the Raptors. He is only averaging 12 points per game and he has had nights where he has made only one basket or gone scoreless. That is a big turnaround from last year when he was terrific and could easily have been an All-Star.

Vince basically replaced Hedo in the lineup. While he is getting 16 points a game, he is averaging a little less than three assists. He is much-maligned for settling for too many jumpers and not getting to the free-throw line often enough. He is in a different role than he is accustomed to because he isn’t the No. 1 option in Orlando. Vince can play, but he is a different player than Hedo.

A gut feeling of mine tells me, the offseason goal for the Rockets is none other than becoming a player in the drama-filled 2010 NBA free agent class. Specifically meaning: Operation Chris Bosh.

Yes, the Rockets wouldn’t have near the amount of cap space to offer Bosh the max, but with Bosh being a Texas native, and the Raptors being no better than mediocre in the Eastern Conference, it seems he’s the top free agent that’s most likely to leave.

It could very well work out that Bosh resigns with the Raptors, but pretend he were to bolt. The Rockets could potentially offer a combination of wings in Battier or Ariza. They also have Jefferies whom would be an expiring contract, but most importantly future assets such as Jordan Hill, who’s shown signs in the last two games, what will be a lottery pick this season, the Knicks 2012 pick, and potentially open to the idea of trading a resigned Scola, or even Brooks perhaps for the services of Bosh.

If that were the case, the team would be hard pressed to find a package better than that if Bosh were to leave Toronto.

“You play a game like this and you have to give them a little leeway because we need them to be rolling if we’re going to be in the playoffs,” Triano said of his Big Two.

But in doing that, Triano loses the rest of the room and you get those selfish games where it’s every man for himself.

It was Triano who first pointed out the selfish nature of his players in the wake of the Sacramento meltdown. And not one of the players in the locker room after the game denied it.

The spin from the room, and the way Triano saw it, differed. While Triano saw guys out only to get theirs and foregoing the share-the-ball approach that has been the core of the team’s success, the players from Antoine Wright to Jose Calderon and Bosh, saw it as players trying to do too much, trying too hard and eventually exacerbating the problem.

Worse still, no one seems real sure what the remedy is.

Bosh was asked what he thought and the reply was disappointing.

“You know me,” Bosh said “I don’t say much. Just learn from the day and worry about tomorrow later, man. That’s all I can come up with.”

Wright, who was concerned the Raptors might throw up a stinker after a spirited effort in Los Angeles against the Lakers, didn’t have answers, either.

“That’s what they pay the man in the other room for,” Wright said, referring to Triano. “He’s got to figure it out. But you shouldn’t have to motivate guys to play hard, not at this point in the season.”

Fan590

President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors joins Prime Time Sports to discuss his team’s performance.

RaptorTalk

Bryan Colangelo was interviewed a day after the Raptors lost in Sacramento to the Kings. It was a game where they surrendered 43 points in the third quarter and came out of halftime allowing the Kings to open on a 14-0 run.
Colangelo commented on a number of issues relating to the Raptors’ woes, including the need to be better coming out after halftime. I’m not sure the GM realizes just how awful his team is in the third quarter of most games.
I spent time examining Raptors’ third quarters and the picture is not pretty. There is no excuse for consistently coming out flat in 2 out of 3 third quarters – which is exactly what the Raptors do.

The Assassin Returns… Bloated and Unable to Inflict Pain

Zach Harper — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:28:40 +0000

I was watching Kill Bill Vol. 2 tonight after I got home from the Raptors home game and trying to make sense of what I saw on Wednesday night. It was not something I was prepared to see.

But before I get into that, I want to talk about the most tragic character that I see in the Kill Bill movies. In the movie, Michael Madsen (from Reservoir Dogs and of course, the Free Willy movies) plays Bill’s brother, Budd. Budd used to be a part of the deadliest team of assassins in the world. It was comprised of Bill, his brother and four deadly ladies that were all inexplicably named after deadly snakes. Now, I guess it’s not all that inexplicable because I get why you’d name them after deadly snakes. I mean, personally, I’d name my team of deadly assassins after the Teletubbies or characters from The Jeffersons.

(I can picture sending Weezy to Shanghai in order to kill the family members of a crime boss.)

Anyway, Budd is no longer a part of a team of worldly assassins in the second volume of Kill Bill. He’s a shell of the shell of his former self. Instead of being a rich, unique killer he’s nothing more now than a white trash guy living in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. He works at a strip club that nobody goes to. Not only does he work at an empty strip club but his boss hates him and makes his life a living hell. He calls him names and degrades him in front of everybody. He has to resort to begging to keep his crappy job and clean out clogs in the toilet.

This is definitely not where anyone would guess Budd would end up -in a pitiful existence full of failure, disappointment and general suckitude. When they cut to the older shots of Budd in the movies, he’s dressed in a nice black suit with his hair well kempt and his body lean like a killing machine should be. He’s often brandishing a rare samurai sword that very few people could ever possess. When we see the current version of him, he’s overweight, not sharp looking at all and just trying to transition from the good point in his life to his death without having to go through a whole hell of a lot.

While I was watching the scenes with Budd play out on the screen, I couldn’t help but think of Hedo Turkoglu. Raptors fans don’t really know the Hedo I’m familiar with. When the Kings drafted Hedo Turkoglu, it was a complete shock to the fanbase. This was long before European players were being touted as the highest draft prospects in their class. They were an unknown and unheard of commodity. When the 2000 NBA Draft was taking place, Kings fans were hoping for a guy like Desmond Mason to fall to the 16th pick so the team could have an athletic swing man, capable of growing in the Kings up-tempo style of play.

When David Stern announced and mispronounced Hidayet Turkoglu, Kings fans couldn’t have been more confused. They had never heard of this guy. He looked nothing like Desmond Mason. His name sounded more like “hideous superglue” rather than anything the fans had ever heard, so there were no expectations of what he could do or where he might fit in.

As a rookie, he didn’t do much in the regular season. He average five points per game and primarily played during garbage time. When the playoffs came around, he got the same treatment in the first round against the Suns. Even though the Kings won their first playoff series in a very long time, this enigmatic rookie had very little to do with the success.

Then came the series against the Lakers in the second round and even though the Kings were swept, Hedo showed incredible promise. He was one of the few players that seemed to show no fear on the court. He didn’t care that Shaq and Kobe were out there. The presence of Rick Fox or the veteran leadership of Robert Horry didn’t intimidate him. He went out on the court and averaged 13 points per game. He finished the sweep against his team with a 22-point effort in which the Lakers squeaked by with a six-point series closeout. It was his coming out party and he wasn’t shy at all.

Over the next two seasons with the Kings, he was a gunslinger in nearly every sense of the word. He wasn’t afraid to shoot the ball. In fact, there was even a joke amongst my friends and me that if he got the ball, he wasn’t going to pass; the shot was going up no matter what. His percentages weren’t great so his playing time was limited because of it but he showed an innate playmaking ability. He was completely capable of affecting a game in a multitude of ways.

When the Kings finally traded him, they received Brad Miller who completed their big man triumvirate to battle Shaquille O’Neal. They were giving up on a future talent for more immediate success. It wasn’t a surprise to see him blossom in Orlando, especially when they turned him into a point forward type of weapon. He always had the ability and the mindset to be dangerous to his opponents.

So when I saw him return Wednesday night, I couldn’t help but see the broken down version of him. He can’t move well enough to really get by anybody. You can run him in the pick-and-roll and his playmaking will be able to create some scoring opportunities for him and his teammates. His jumper isn’t anything you fear anymore. His defense is as atrocious as ever and he just looks like a liability out there.

I recognize that he’s coming back from an injury and that could be a reason he didn’t move well, but this is something you could see developing over the past year. In Orlando, he had three shooters and an athletic god playing around him so it was hard to truly notice his increasing decline. But in Toronto’s system that doesn’t necessarily maximize his remaining abilities, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Seeing him in person just reaffirms everything you think you’re seeing on television. He has slow feet and he can’t really jump anymore. He seems ready to go into fun-loving veteran mode instead of trying to fight it out one more valiant time mode. It’s hard to believe he has nearly $44 million (U.S.) and four years left on his contract. His signing was a desperate attempt to put some named players around Chris Bosh to show the upcoming free agent that they’re willing to make moves to keep him on a winner.

You hope that Hedo isn’t the strip club-bouncing version of Budd during the rest of his time in Toronto. You don’t want him relegated to being chastised by his bosses for not being worth much anymore. You don’t want him living some crappy existence in which he seems so alone. You hope that he’ll be able to find his Hattori Hanzo sword and still cut through his opposition on occasion.

Any glimmer of the old assassin Kings fans saw come through Arco Arena would be a welcome site over the clog-clearing shell that I saw on Wednesday.

Toronto Raptors Morning Coffee March 11

Scott — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:51:30 +0000

Only once this season has a Raptors opponent scored more in a quarter than the Sacramento Kings did Wednesday night.

A 43-point third quarter had the Raptors not just back to the porous defence of late February and early March, but all the way back to November and early December when teams such as Atlanta regularly were running up big scores on the Dinos.

Combined with the 23 points the Raptors managed at the other end in that third quarter, it was the most one-sided quarter of the season.

It all added up to an ugly 113-90 loss, and some tough questions for a team that is looking squarely at a battle just to squeak into the NBA playoffs.

Fittingly such a sieve-like effort earned the Raptors a move in the standings that has brought them within sniffing distance of ninth place in the Eastern Conference and, potentially, another year of watching the playoffs.

Both the Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat have now caught the Raptors in the standings, meaning the next step down is ninth.

“I think we just got very selfish,” Triano said. “We had guys come down and take a shot and I guess other guys are not happy because they don’t touch the ball. We miss the shot, it gets rebounded, they’re on a fast break and it’s a 10-0 run before you know it and we cave after that.”

Triano later softened his tone, but only marginally.

“Guys are tying to do it themselves,” he said. “They are taking it upon themselves to get us back in the game. When it comes down and only one or two guys touching it, the other guys don’t want to set screens, they don’t want to run back on defence, they don’t want to defend or help. That’s where we have to become a little stronger mentally.”

Or, to put it another way, that’s where this Raptors team needs to grow up.

The numbers from the game, while horrible, aren’t even close to the worst thing about the night. That honour would go to how quickly the Raps disappeared after the Kings opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run.

“It’s part of the resolve we need to have. When a team goes on a run, we have to be able to come back and snuff it out by scoring points. We missed a couple and they ran out on us and they have all the confidence in the world and we can’t find a bucket.”

"Our body language at the start of the second half wasn’t very good. They came out and they went on a run … We never were able to get back into a groove after that," said Antoine Wright, the reserve swingman. "That’s when the selfish play came in. Guys started holding onto the ball a little bit longer. I’m guilty of it as well as everybody else."

Indeed, with two of Toronto’s top three point producers, Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, continuing to struggle in the wake of respective ankle injuries, Toronto’s offence — a stagnant, selfish concoction that managed just 15 assists on Wednesday — couldn’t compensate for the deficiencies. Bosh was limited to 14 points on 6-for-20 shooting. Turkoglu was even worse, making just 2 of his 8 shots for 6 points.

"I would love to come in and play the ball I was playing before I turned my ankle. But it’s not like that," said Bosh. "I’m trying to get back into the same mode I was in. It’s hard right now. I’m going to get there soon. We’re just at a tough stretch right now.

"It’s just getting a feel for the game. I missed a lot of easy shots today, shots I feel I should make, especially 15 feet and in. I can’t say much about that. They just went out. I don’t get too down about it. I know those shots are going to be there. There’s still plenty of basketball left to play. I just have to step up and make sure I play some decent defence and get some rebounds, and I can help this team out a lot more."

Remember the other day when I mentioned that there were those in the hierarchy who thought change might be coming to the starting lineup?

I am sure their voices are louder now and should be listened to.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the starting lineup in Golden State on Saturday wasn’t Jose Calderon, Antoine Wright, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.

It’s not entirely a knock against Jarrett or DeMar – and Lord knows there’s enough under-performing going on now that everyone shares the blame – but it’s got to be time to do something to see if they can find a spark.

There’s still a quarter of the season to go and that’s plenty of time and they remain right in the thick of a race for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth.

But the events of the past couple of weeks, plus some private conversations I’ve had with a bunch of people, leads me to believe change is afoot.

And, frankly, I think it should be.

Globe and Mail

Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight and seven of eight games. Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozan and Jarrett Jack all had 14 points.

“He (Evans) just picked us apart, you can’t stop him with one guy,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “He’s a tough guard for us and he makes two or three guys have to guard him and when that happens his teammates make shots. Other guys are going to be open.”

The loss dropped Toronto into a seventh-place tie with Charlotte in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are only one game ahead of ninth-place Chicago.

“We have to get back to winning games,” guard Jose Calderon said. “The good thing about it is that we are still in the playoff loop. We have to try to get better and hopefully it’s in our next game.”

Sacramento Bee

On what the Kings dubbed "Reke-ROY" night, the organizational hype reached a fever pitch in front of an announced crowd 13,412. A cutout of Evans’ face was placed on a stick and turned into a toy for some 5,000 fans, and the first 10,000 were given T-shirts promoting him as the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Evans certainly wasn’t alone in earning the win. After scoring a season-low 81 points at Portland on Tuesday and mustering just 16 second-quarter points to trail 45-40 at halftime, the Kings dominated Toronto 43-23 in a third quarter in which they hit 18 of 24 shots. Kings forward Carl Landry hit his five shots in the period and scored 10 of his 15 points, with the Kings jumping ahead thanks to a 12-0 run after the break.

Yet Evans did earn the endless praise that continued to surround him. His highlight of the outing came late in the second quarter, when he buried a circus shot from the baseline that went over the glass. The officials conferred, then seemed to bend to the will of the locals in calling the shot good.

Sneaker News

We’ve seen a growing number of sneaker-head NBAers who have shunned the team-appointed shoes and gone into their own collections for in-game gear. Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors decided the Air Jordan VI (6) Retro Black/Varsity Red was a worthy pick for Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers. The Black/Varsity Red Jordan VI Retro was the highlight of the January 2010 releases, and Johnson reminds us once again that Jordans are, in fact, basketball kicks. Check out the in-game photos after the jump. via Yahoo!.

Sham Sports

In addition to continuing his basketball career, Bateer has also begun a move towards whatever the Hong Kong equivalent of Hollywood is called. He first appeared in a film called "The Blue Xanadu" back in 2005, and the above monk photo comes from a film called "Bodyguards And Assassins."
Body & Ass is reputedly one of the most eagerly anticipated and expensive films to come out of Hong Kong cinema in a generation, with a hype fuelled in no small part by repeated delays in its release. The trailer certainly makes it look as slick as a baby’s arse, and better still, Bateer’s part is no small cameo. In the film, he plays an outcast monk (obviously), going by the slightly awesome of Wang Fuming, who moonlights as a tofu vendor. There are not enough films these days written about 6′11 monk salesmen, but Bateer pulls the part off with remarkable aplomb, as you can see in this clip where he kills dudes with coconuts and proves to be nigh-on impossible to kill.

LA Times

The Raptors mouthed-off to the Lakers, clearly not intimidated by the defending NBA champions.
All of that bothered Lakers forward Lamar Odom to no end, even though the Lakers defeated Toronto, 109-107, on a 17-foot jump shot by Kobe Bryant with 1.9 seconds left.
"Got dudes on the Raptors talking …," Odom said. "They ain’t done …. You know what I mean? As a team, as individuals."
The Raptors have never won an NBA championship.
The Lakers won the franchise’s 15th last June.
The Lakers have the second-best record in the NBA at 47-18.
The Raptors are two games above .500 (32-30) and are seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference.
In Odom’s eyes, the Raptors could act with this cocky attitude because the Lakers allowed them to, because the Lakers have been looking weak.
The Lakers had lost three consecutive games before Tuesday night.
"Our disposition as a team gives like some of these dudes, they feel like they have the right," Odom said about the Raptors. "The way we’re playing as a unit, they got dudes on their team that are talking …. They are like .500.

Cowbell Kingdom

Andrea Bargnani is a lot better than people think and I think he may experience an Andrew Bogut type of emergence in the next two years. Now obviously, they’re two different types of players/big men. Bogut is a defensive force on the inside with a nice post game and a tireless work ethic on the court. Bargnani is a sleek-shooting big man who can stretch the defense like Mr. Fantastic. He was the one Raptors player who gave the Kings problems the entire time. He’s bigger than you’d imagine, which allows him to score inside. If he gets position, especially on offensive rebounds, he’s able to use his size to get an easy putback. And of course, his jumper is so smooth that he’s always a threat to score from outside. If he can get efficient at driving to the hoop, he’ll be dropping 20 every game.

- If the Kings are planning on pursuing Chris Bosh in the off-season, they’re going to have quite a bit of convincing and selling to do. Coming out of the first TV timeout during the first quarter, one of the Kings fans in the crowd screamed towards Bosh, “Bosh, are you coming to Sacramento?” Bosh heard the question and shot back at the hopeful fan, “Hell no!” It was probably a bit of a pipe dream to begin with but this definitely makes you start moving towards Plan B.

Wall Street Journal

When the sun sets in Toronto and the roof of the Rogers Centre starts to glow like giant spaceship, the downtown club district—once a quiet industrial stretch of garment factories—begins to teem with life. Strolling the streets from bar to bar are well-dressed revelers of all ethnicities.

Jarrett Jack, a Raptors guard, says the "mix of people" in Toronto is far more interesting than he sees in most NBA towns. "One girl told me she’s from Hungary and Chile—I’m like, how does that happen?" says Mr. Jack. "You kind of go outside the box here."

"There are certain cities you go to where you want to get there a day ahead and give (the players) a chance to have their fun—and Toronto has become one of those cities," says Raptors assistant coach Alex English.

Full Court Press

On Chris Bosh
“Between Carl (Landry) and Jason Thompson primarily, and help from different places at different times, he had a rough night. Now, we know a player as good as Chris Bosh a lot of times, it’s just because he missed, but we made him work and he did miss. We did a good job of limiting them to one shot and it was primarily Carl and JT.”

T.Jose Caldeford

Stat of the Day: Toronto has wins over Cleveland and Los Angeles already this season, and they’ve blown games against each of those teams that they should have won as well. Regardless, Toronto is one of only 8 teams in the NBA to have beaten the two best teams in the league this season:

The Samsquanch

The Refs should be SHOT or HUNG or STABBED but they should not be let go without consequence.
Now before you go and call me a psycho I don’t mean that literally of course but these refs lastnight were a good example of a major issue in this game. That being, giving the superstars preferential treatment. Kobe was given every chance to get to the line on a variety of phantom calls where he would fall on his own ass and not be in the vicinity of a Raptor but yet the Refs who must’ve had something of LA’s in their pants would call everything against the Raps and basically changed the outcome. This is not acceptable. This is not what fair play is about. This is disgusting.

The Samsquanch

A gutless performance in the second half. The Raptors mailed it in during halftime, put on their night caps and went to sleep. Their offense consisted of a lot of standing around and shooting an ill-advised jumper first thing down the court. Bosh was off big time and he kept forcing up that jumper that just wasn’t working. He needed to post up every single time but he didn’t. They needed to get the ball to him in the post, or post up Bargnani or run high ISO for him… they didn’t. They needed to get Jose the heck off the court and out of the arena. They lost to an obviously inferior team and might as well pack it in this season. This ship seems to be sinking faster than Reggie Evans in a above ground pool.

The Zan Tabak Herald

My writing partner put it best. If the ship was pointed in the wrong direction over the last few games, it’s most certainly sprung a leak and is starting to sink. It’s gut check time. Not sure if it’s going to take a team meeting, or a tongue lashing from Jay, but something has to be done to turn this second half around. They did it before and they can do it again. Maybe a little positive thinking is key.

Fan590

Smith Says:
- “Toronto was completely dismantled in the second half.”

Jones Says:
- “Dominating second half by the Kings.”

RaptorsHQ

For me this loss is up there with two others on the season; the November 25th blowout in Charlotte, and the January 11th debacle in Indiana, a game the Raps should have had wrapped up but let slip away. Both along with a few poundings at the hands of the Hawks, were ugly views of how fragile this team’s psyche can be, and from an outsiders perspective, ones that probably make you wonder if this is indeed a playoff team.

Last night you’d be hard-pressed to look at the 2009-10 version of the Dinos as a playoff club, even in the East. The talent is there, but much like previous incarnations of this club, what really concerned me is that not a single player looked to step up to rally the troops when the going got tough. Not Bosh, not Bargs, not the Ottoman…not even Reggie Evans. You can’t be paying X millions of dollars to your supposed top players, and not get that element of leadership from at least one of them. This wasn’t the Raptors vs the Mavs or Jazz…this was Toronto taking on one of the least effecient offensive clubs in the league, they should have been able to stop the bleeding.

Predictable 3rd Quarter Collapse in Sactown

Arsenalist — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:54 +0000

Raptors 90, Kings 113 – Box

Were you content after the Lakers loss and thought that since we hung around the champs for four quarters, the next night in Sacramento would be rather easy? I mean, linear thinking dictates that if you almost beat a really, really good team, you should be able to pummel a really bad team, no? NO! It just doesn’t work that way and that’s why I was so upset after Tuesday’s loss – because we had blown our chance at the split. Any NBA team is lucky to split a back-to-back and the chances of that happening on the first night are much greater than the second. After a solid effort in LA, we predictably crumbled in the third quarter under the guise of fatigue. Nothing surprising whatsoever, we’ve seen this happen in Indiana and Milwaukee before and should’ve been expecting it. Part of me is still not over the Lakers loss because believe it or not, that was the winnable game on this back-to-back what with the Lakers returning home from the East, not this one.

To the Raptors credit, they came out with an energy which was entirely unexpected. Andrea Bargnani got the first three Raptor rebounds of the game, two of them offensive, Chris Bosh nailed a mid-range jumper, Jarrett Jack hit a three, DeRozan started off with his usual aggressiveness and even Hedo had a couple drives to the rim. It was as if though we were out to redeem ourselves and nothing would stop us. But oh no, I’ve watched too many Raptor games to jump to any such conclusions and reserved my judgment while calmly taking a sip from my now almost empty Crown Royal bottle.

As is the duty of any artist, I must be fair to the picture I am painting so I’ll talk about the positives of the first half before reluctantly treading into the tale of the second. Donte Greene was identified as the target of our offense and DeRozan, Turkoglu and Jack all attacked his side of the court, they back-cut on him, drove at him, forced him to make a rotation and so on. He wasn’t upto it and neither was Spencer Hawes who was at the mercy of Bargnani’s pump-fake for the first half. Bargnani did well in exploiting Brad Miller’s carcass in transition and in the half-court to the tune of 11 rather pretty points. The Kings are pretty thin in the paint and the Raptors did a very good job of going right at them early on, Hawes and Landry aren’t defensive stoppers or shot-blockers by any means and it showed. The ball-movement was steady, the cuts were hard and it was all quite refreshing. Of course, all this changed in the third.

Jack was in attack-mode as usual but unlike the Lakers game where he was getting praised for it, he will receive no such treatment today and that’s because Beno Udrih ate both him and Calderon alive. I have accepted that the $13M/yr we have invested in PGs can’t buy us defense against their quick counterparts, but when Beno Udrih goes off for 24/4/8 on 10-14FG, it feels a bit odd. Odd in the sense that you don’t expect it but here you are trying to explain why a below-average PG scored twice his season average on you. Then again we have a history of letting scrubs get off on us so even that shouldn’t be a shock. Technically speaking, all Udrih did was use a screen around the FT line area to go left or right, stop on a dime and rise for a jumper. He kept the game that simple and it got him 24 points and kept the Kings in it early. Check his shot chart.

The main problem the Kings pose is Tyreke Evans attacking you with the ball, I’m sure the Raptors expected him to get his points and didn’t look to DeRozan as a defensive stopper by any means. What they didn’t expect was Beno Udrih providing the production he did. Evans did get his triple-double of 19/10/10 and was a huge part of that crushing third quarter which we’ll get to. The Raptors needed their superstar to respond to what their star was doing and Bosh didn’t deliver. He had a very poor shooting night of 6-20 FG and there were a lot of sets tonight where we gave him the ball for jumpers as four guys watched, his reads of the double-teams was poor and he looked to get himself off before his teammates. That to me is Chris Bosh at his worst – not only is he not producing, but nobody else gets to score either.

Jose Calderon did a good job in the second quarter, he “pulled a Beno” but hitting a couple jumpers off the high-screen, didn’t concede much defensively and led the Raptors to a 20-16 win of the second quarter. Bargnani (20/6/3 on 8-12 FG) was again instrumental in the frame as he continued to terrorize Hawes. We went into halftime with a 45-40 lead which we were good for. We hadn’t gotten blown out on a back-to-back and that in itself is reason to celebrate. Not that I did, I just calmly got some ice out of the fridge, put a few pieces in a glass and then poured some more Crown on it. Then I waited for the third quarter.

The third quarter started and we immediately wet the bed.

Defensive energy? Gone. Drives to the rim? Hardly any. Jumpers? Hell yes. Effort? You must be joking. We conceded a season-high 43 points in the quarter and got outscored by a full 20 points. The quarter started with the Kings going on a 12-0 run and we never recovered. This span saw two Turkoglu misses, two Bosh bricks, a DeRozan brick and a Jack missed layup. There was no defensive energy, not even the preemptive help that’s made us dead-last in league defensive rating. Udrih and Evans each had 9 in the quarter and instead of buckling down and responding, the Raptors offense resembled anything anything but a team. Bargnani only attempted two shots and made both, I though the Hawes matchup was there to be exploited all night long and we didn’t milk it enough, certainly not to the level they milked Evans and Udrih. Blame Bargnani or his teammates or his coach, you can have your pick. The Kings shot 18-24 (75%) in the quarter equaling the number of field goals they had in the entire first half. Triano called it selfish:

We got very selfish, we had guys come down and take a shot and I guess other guys aren’t happy because they don’t touch the ball. We miss the shot and it gets rebounded and it’s fast break points, before you know it it’s a 10-0 run and we caved after that.

We lost points in the paint 62-42, lost the fastbreak 22-6, lost rebounding 52-33, lost points off turnovers 17-7, and lost steals 7-5. We lost practically every hustle stat against a team that had 11 less wins than us coming into this one and are playing out the string. The stats sure don’t bear out Triano’s belief that there was nothing wrong with our energy.

I hate to comment on Turkoglu because there’s nothing positive to say, but since he is our prime free-agent acquisition it’s only fair to give him a review. If I had to measure his performance on a spectrum of sorts, I’d have one end marked ’shite’ and the other end marked ‘utter shite’. I’d say he was somewhere in the middle today, a whopping 6/7/3 on 2-8FG and 3 turnovers, and all this while being matched up against Donte Greene and Omri Casspi. Need I say more, need I really say more? I’ve gone off on Turkoglu enough times already this season and nothing I can say will add anything new to the story. He was crap. That is all. Let’s just hope we sneak into the playoffs and he hits game-winners left and right. If you can stomach it, here’s his post-game interview.

I could talk about Amir Johnson’s zero-filled scoresheet, Reggie Evans running around pretending he’s Dennis Rodman, Belinelli’s pointless late insertion, Antoine Wright’s 0-4 (14/56 for 25% in his last 8) and terrible defense, and other such nondescript events but it’s not worth it and more importantly, not needed for the reader to get an idea of what kind of game this was.

We were down by 15 heading into the fourth and even though that’s far from an insurmountable lead, the body language, the effort and the shot-selection in the first three minutes of the quarter told you that it’s best to turn this one off and finish off the bottle of Crown. This is the second time in less than a space of a week that we’ve been outworked and outplayed by a team that has nothing to play for whereas we’re jockeying for playoff positioning. We are now in a three-way tie for the sixth spot with Charlotte and Miami while Chicago is a game back at the ninth spot. The upcoming schedule for the teams goes like this:

Charlotte: LAC, @ORL, @IND
Miami: CHI, PHI, SAS
Chicago: @ORL @MIA @MEM
Toronto: @GSW, @POR, OKC

It’s conceivable that we’ll only need to go 1-2 in this stretch to still hang on to a playoff since Chicago has got it pretty tough. I’m not really aiming high here but at this point we should just make the playoffs and see where that takes us. How cruel the NBA is? Seems only yesterday that we were chasing the fourth spot which is now Milwaukee’s to do. They have created a 2 game gap between themselves and the 6th seed.

Final word on this game is that it wasn’t hard to predict a third quarter collapse as we’ve done it before and have only won twice on the second night of a back to back. Was it fatigue or was it just the players giving up? I don’t know but I hope it’s the former. I would hate to think that we have effort issues at this stage of the season.

Oh, by the way folks, Udrih was playing so well in the third that his coach kept him in there for the whole quarter! And you know what else? He started the fourth and lived to tell about it!

Raptors Roll Call March 10 vs Kings

Scott — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:32:51 +0000

The “premature elation” edition.

Banks – I was sending waves to Jay late 3rd to try and get Marcus to swap uniforms with somebody just to try and help stop the tidal wave.

Bargnani – those first few moments of the game were beautiful. Even if those could be stretched out to 13-17 minutes per game, like it seemed to be for awhile this season, we’d all be happy. Quite honestly he had me pumping my fists early with his rebounding and that sweet reverse layup. He was a lone, and I mean lone, bright spot tonight, as fleeting as it was.

Belinelli – again, obviously not a fan, but don’t you throw him out there in the second half to at least play catch-up? Sure, he might get burned defensively, but who didn’t tonight?

Bosh – pathetic. He made it look like the rim was like those you see in the fair at the CNE, you know the ones that are 30 feet in the air? Ended the night shooting 6 of 20, made not attempts at drawing contact to at least get to the line, and treated the term “rebound” like it was “your best offer in 2010 is coming from Sacramento”.

Calderon – honestly he needed to step up his defence to the 4-clap variety. It’s been a little while since my jaw dropped watching him play D, but tonight I have blood coming from my chin because it was continually hitting the table tonight. Udrih (!) just abused him and rather than try a little pay back by burning him on the other end by at least getting his teammates going, he ended the night with 1 assist. One.

DeRozan – continues to play slap happy when defending his man, but at least we only have another month or so of watching it and getting frustrated. Second night in a row, though, that saw him push the envelope a little offensively and he was actually rewarded with some play calls. For him!! Actually, that one rolling off the screen was nice and should become a staple.

Evans – a little better than the Lakers game. 11 minutes is probably a good amount of time for him. Use him is small spurts, have him lay a beating down, and bring him back to the bench to chew on some bark. 4 boards and perfect from the floor. Give the man a medal.

Jack – the epitome of the Raptors game tonight. Came out of the gates playing his usual game of picking his spots to do it himself or create for others. Second half it just all seemed to fade away. I’m beginning to think that as Jack goes, the Raptors go.

Johnson – it was like backwards day. Hit his free throws, but came up skunks on the boards and showed as much hustle as a bulldog in a greyhound race. An off night to say the least against a team I fully expected him to have fun playing against. I was well off.

Nesterovic – spared the humiliation. I’m sure he is probably the happiest guy on the bench because of it.

O’Bryant – he didn’t go to the game tonight. Evidently when he told his teammates he wasn’t going to be there, they decided that as POB goes, they go.

Turkoglu- well, consistency is one of the factors in being a memorable player in any sport. Hedo is an MVP when it comes to that trait. We’ve come to know what we will get: a lackadaisical effort played with a goofy grin and arms stretched out in disbelief. Bring back the mask and paint it something different every night just to add some spice to these games. He lead the team in rebounds with 7. Yes, more than any of our bigs. Yes.

Weems – while not his best game of the year, he at least showed some effort out there. He should never ever start again and tonight he showed why, as if we didn’t already know. When the starting unit is moving along like a truck stuck in mud, it’s a noticeable lift when Jay remembers he has a guy named Weems on the bench.

Wright – words can’t describe it. It’s like Kobe beat him so bad last night that rather than take his wallet, Bryant decided to take Antoine’s basketball ability. An O-fer from the field, disinterest defensively at times, and an embarrassment to headband wearing ballplayers everywhere.

Driving The Bus: Andrea Bargnani

Under The Bus: Chris Bosh

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