Let’s Step Back.
Why is it that 2 games into this series I get flashbacks to the Butch Carter playoff era…and not it a good way. The only difference this time is that the current coach is the target of fan and media displeasure. Toss in some criticism of a #1 pick during the most important time of any NBA season, and one wonders why now?
A few weeks back I suggested using the last 10-12 games to fiddle with lineups and find ones that work best. Granted, not knowing who you are playing until the last few games did hinder any planning and, as many have pointed out, you can’t flick a switch and improve perimeter defence.
It didn’t happen and Sam Mitchell instead waited until Game One of the 2008 Playoffs to tinker. Good call? Sure it is. You are facing a team that shoots from the 3pt line like it was a chippy. Is Moon a better defender on the outside than Bargnani? Marginally, at best. Moon might be a better defender down low, but if Bosh and Nesterovic are being owned by Howard, how can you expect Jamario to be any better? So, do you play offence vs offence and hope the better of the two from outside gets hot and knocks down a few? Of course you do. Even given his dreadful percentage from the outside lately, who do you cringe at when they shoot a 3: Bargs or Moon? Exactly.
We went 3-7 in what was supposed to be an easy month. The team was stagnant, there was some pretty evident negative attitudes on the floor, and the positivity of garnering a playoff spot was instead pushed back by journalists and bloggers loaded for bear. Would you have felt better fielding the same lineup and rotation that performed so poorly against weaker opponents? If so, who is the fool?
People continue to question Mitchell’s playcalling or if he has lost his players. Today their anger turned to the last shot in Game Two. I’m still personally amazed that you want to take the ball out of your franchise players hands. Watch the tape. There was no other option. Dwight played the switch hard, almost taking on two guys at once, therefore taking the pass to Jose away. Everybody else is stagnant in the corners, covered in man-to-man. Plus, the design of the play was to allow Jose to drive if Nelson got caught in the screen. Nelson DID get caught but Howard is so long, Calderon had no shot to get around him, so he passed it to Bosh who had a nice look at a shot he has made 100s of times in his life.
Also, as mentioned today, Mitchell’s better players (Parker for example) are having plays run for them, it works, and rather than shoot, they pass. Mitchell is drawing up plays, but the team isn’t running them. What do you do? Bench Parker? Delfino was doing the same thing to Sam’s frustration yesterday, but snapped out of it.
Actual headline in one Toronto newspaper heading into Game 2: “Raptors coach on the hotseat.”
And we thought Canadians were supposed to be rational, reasonable people. Toronto Coach Sam Mitchell has lost two playoff games and, suddenly, he has become a North-of-the-border Isiah Thomas.
This is from today’s Orlando Sentinel. Pretty telling view from the outside world. The national newspaper, covering “Canada’s Team”, yesterday ran one article about the team, and it was all about tearing down Bargnani. No critical look at the team or the series and offering creative suggestions as to how to right the ship. Nope, a shot across the bow mocking the players understanding/use of the English language and continued wonderment at his futility.
The negativity and doubt, quite frankly, is amazing. Did you expect miracles? We are a .500 ballclub. We are playing the third seed in the east. Why so many people were begging for a team that had the best chance to exploit our weakness still amazes me. I still thought, and continue to think, we have a shot to take this series. Yesterday was ours if you take away the first quarter turnovers, which are rare. Game one could have been ours if the Magic weren’t as hot as they were.
Nobody should have expected a big turnaround in the makeup of this team heading into this series. To win, we would need Orlando to play average basketball, which they have for 6 quarters. Will that continue? Yup. Can we get 2 at home? Yup. Should we still be supportive of this team? Yup.
Lets leave the arrows and bullets in their respective boxes for now. We have all summer to point and mock.
Apr 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
The Raptors will probably win Game 3.
Game 4 is gonna be the first major test for this year’s team in the post-season.
Get that one and the series will still have life left for Toronto.
PS. Have read very many other blogs yet today but … wonder if other observers saw what I saw re: Bargnani yesterday. Il Mago was horrendous defensively to start the game and really set the rest of the squad back on its heels for the rest of the 1stQ.
khandors last blog post..Raptors @ Magic … post mortem
Apr 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
oops … P.S. should read as … have not read
khandors last blog post..Raptors @ Magic … post mortem
Apr 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
It seems I’m one of the few people that like Bargnani starting over Moon. Moon was playing good d in the second quarter, but in the second half when he started jacking shots and bricking them that just pissed me off. I have no problem with Bosh having the rock in the last possession…I just wanted him to drive. Yes he makes that shot all the time but in my opinion driving the ball would’ve been the best play. And if he got doubled, THEN Calderon, Delfino, or Kapono would have gotten an open shot.
TimeIntacts last blog post..The Most Ridiculous Statement as Raps lose 104-103
Apr 24th, 2008 at 3:07 am
I’m just going to say that like most news bits that pass through the hype machine of the NBA playoffs, Moon vs. Bargnani is overblown. It’s really a tremendously minor point. I know that I’ve always said I’m all about team ball and watching five easy pieces run the floor, etc, but it has nothing to do with how this series has gone.
As Scott has pointed out, the Raptors have struggled lately. Could Moon have made a difference? Maybe. But it’s not like Mitchell benched Kareem Abdul Jabbar. While it has happened before, I’m going to say that having a rookie or a 2nd year player who are somewhere around the 5th and 8th scoring options as your big playoff X factors isn’t really realistic, particularly when none have done much to make themselves stand out in months.
And yeah, this is a whinging post, but if I see one more failed jock in a skinny tie giving me dumb shizzit like Moon vs. Bargnani as “insider analysis” I’m going to vomit in my raspberry beret.
Granville Waiters Ghosts last blog post..Let’s Step Back.
Apr 24th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Well said.
Apr 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Yup…. don’t agree with you on the Moon/Bargs thing, but other than that, this gets a big friggin AMEN! I think my first post on here was about people being too negative about our team - if I thought things were bad then, the Canadian media has taken it to a new level.
Apr 24th, 2008 at 10:41 am
expecting the raptors to win on the road in the playoffs, in the first couple games is a bit of a stretch. totally agree the magic are playing average ball after the 1st quarter, but can’t their more done during those massive runs?
can’t smitch call a timeout, and hope to squash some of the momentum? that’s all i’m saying. arsenalist pointed out that svg called a timeout the other night when the raptors were mounting some momentum, and the magic were up 11.
s that not a reasonable expectation of the coach? clearly the raptors are coming out flat footed to start games, some more support from the coach could help things out.
Raps Fans last blog post..B.C. Sign’s Fred Newman
Apr 24th, 2008 at 11:28 am
well… he called a timeout when the score was 8-2. And things only got worse… I actually think more of the onus for the poor starts lies with our lack of defensive intensity, rather than lack of momentum-stopping timeouts. But, maybe that’s at least partially Sam’s fault. I tend to think that the desire to play defense in the NBA comes primarily from within each player, or a team leader (eg KG), rather than a coach.
Given Sam’s career as a player, though, the irony is hard to miss. Maybe the crowd will inspire some D tonight…
Apr 24th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I had an issue in Game One where I thought Sam could have used a time out. Not sure where it would help the Raptors flat footedness though.
At times, I side with the Phil Jackson way of doing things: play through it. Calling a timeout, especially on the road, allows the crowd to really feed into the home team, gives the team time to celebrate and revel in the moment. Outside of getting a sub-in, I don’t think a team with the personnel of the Raptors does any good. Again, we suck at defending the three. Would Sam be able to teach how to do it in a timeout?
Yes, it could be a momentum stopper, but sometimes you are playing against a tsunami. I don’t care if Sam called 3 timeouts that first quarter, we were like a fisherman in a row boat.
Scotts last blog post..Linkage - April 24
Apr 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
the phil jackson way of doing things only works when you have players like jordan, pippen, grant, rodman, shaq, kobe…not with this rag tag bunch man.
maybe it’s just me, but not calling a timeout doesnt work, calling one timeout didn’t work. how about calling more? he doesn’t done that. i understand hes trying to teach a lesson, and make the guys play through shit, but what is the point of having a coach then?
Raps Fans last blog post..Raptors vs Magic - 2008 Playoffs Game 3 - April 24, 2008
Apr 24th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
And with this rag tag bunch, what do you teach in a time out?
I have seen Sam call a timeout when we are consistently missing assignments or not running plays he’s called. Hell, in the last 2 games of the season, he called a timeout less than 3 minutes into a quarter. As Scott pointed out, he called one fairly quickly in game 2. A TV timeout was to come before the end of the quarter, so why burn another one?
Again, Game 2’s run was due to turnovers. What do you say in a timeout? “Please hold on to the ball?” Come on.
I’m all for banking my timeouts for the 4th in the playoffs. As we saw, if we are within striking distance, I’d rather know I have 2 in my back pocket rather than have blown an extra one in the 4th due to stupid turnovers that you have no control over as a coach.
Scotts last blog post..Linkage - April 24
Apr 24th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
“not knowing who you are playing until the last few games did hinder any planning”
Please, we knew we were likely to end up playing Orlando about two weeks before the season ended.
How can you possibly defend Mitchell for putting out a lineup that has NEVER played together and play Bargnani at a position he has NEVER played? I don’t think I need to type anymore to make that point.
As Khandor said, I think Game 3’s in the bag. It’s Game 4 that’s going to be the issue. Just like it was against Philly.
Arsenalists last blog post..Game 3 Preview: Sea of Red looks to even series
Apr 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
How can you say Game 3 is in the bag if it is another new lineup? Isn’t that what you are saying is a cause for losing game one?
And I saw nothing “likely” in the last 2 weeks of the season, in all honesty.
Apr 24th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Scott, I’m banking on the crowd to push us through. The Raptors have to know that despite their horrible starts they were still in the games late in the fourth quarter. They’ll feel that they should’ve won Game 2 and I think this confidence will drive them tonight.
I suppose I shouldn’t say “it’s in the bag” but there’s a good chance they’ll win. As for the lineup changes, as long as he corrects the Bargnani mistake, I’m not too worried. Smitch needs to realize he’s not smart enough to be tweaking lineups in the playoffs, he’s got a long ways to go before he understands the game like SVG and should just try to coach the team, not outcoach the opposing coach.
Arsenalists last blog post..Game 3 Preview: Sea of Red looks to even series
Apr 24th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Interesting point about the crowd.
Makes one wonder what the reaction would have been in the first quarters of games 1 and 2 had they been here. Would the hatred by the “fans” influenced the comeback in a negative way?