http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/279200Defence and rebounding, defence and rebounding – Mitchell expounds on their importance so often that you sometimes wonder if his roster of finesse players, most of whom, you get the sense, would enjoy nothing better than to spend a quiet evening at home listening to a soundtrack of their own swishes, even hears him. But the message is taught in more than words.

He is far less likely to yank players for, say, an offensive indiscretion than for defensive lassitude. He pulled Kris Humphries from the action Wednesday night after Humphries allowed his check to stream to the rim for an unimpeded put-back. And as Humphries took a seat at the bench, the coach hollered: “Tell him why we took him out of the game!”

The answer was – “Dah!” as Mitchell likes to say – defence and rebounding. And the incessant repetition seems to be getting through, at least occasionally. Both Chris Bosh, who had 19 rebounds Wednesday, and Bargnani, had grabbed 11, worked themselves out of shooting funks by persisting on the boards in a 95-89 win.

Said Bosh: “Rebounding is keeping me aggressive and I know that my offence will come.”