Ominous words … in Raptorville
Raptors’ inconsistency a cause for concern
One telling play in Friday’s loss was a dunk by Boston’s Paul Pierce over Chris Bosh that ended with Pierce being hit with a taunting technical for flexing over the falling Raptor. That brought coach Jay Triano and his staff off the bench to scream at Pierce, but elicited no response from the other players.
“I was pretty focused on what was going on in front of me. I didn’t realize until I watched it on tape that we had backed off as much as we did,” Triano said. “I think if I was Chris I would confront my teammates.
“Any time one of your guys goes down – and you don’t have to go out there and start fighting – just go over and help your teammate and we didn’t even do that. He laid there on the floor without anybody going over to see how he was.”
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PART I
A Top Notch NBA head coach does NOT talk in this way, concerning what happens to one of HIS players in a game:
“I was pretty focused on what was going on in front of me. I didn’t realize … ”
A Top Notch NBA head coach is aware of EVERY SINGLE THING that happens on the floor, and on the bench, with regard to HIS team.
A Top Notch NBA head coach … misses NOTHING.
Ever.
Because he is just THAT aware of:
1. What’s happened in the game, to that point;
2. What’s happening in the game, at that exact moment; and,
3. What’s most likely ABOUT to happen in the game, in the immediate future.
This is one of the personal attributes which separates a Top Notch NBA head coach from everyone else.
PART II
A Top Notch NBA head coach does NOT talk in this way, either:
A. To;
or,
B. About;
the players on HIS own team.
He does NOT use the phrase:
“I think if I was ____ ____, I would ________ __ _________.”
He does NOT talk in public … either to, or about, HIS players … in terms of hypothetical directives.
A Top Notch NBA head coach is, either:
A. Purposely obtuse/indirect; or,
B. Purposely acute/direct;
in his dealings with reporters, scribes, bloggers, etc., concerning goings-on with HIS players, in order to convey a highly specific message that either:
i. Relieves the pressure of a situation from the entire team; or,
ii. Narrows the focus to a certain thing/individual within the entire group.
Of all the goings-on which have occurred in Raptorville, to this point, this season … these specific words spoken by their head coach, Jay Triano, are the most disconcerting.
FACTS FROM FRIDAY NIGHT’S INCIDENT VS BOSTON
1. The first Raptors’ coach to get up from his seat, in response to what was done to Chris Bosh [by Paul Pierce] … was ALEX ENGLISH.
2. The most demonstrative Raptors’ coach who actually went after the Celtics’ bench contingent [i.e. Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau, Rasheed Wallace, etc.], in response to what was done to Chris Bosh [by Paul Pierce] … was MARC IAVARONI.
The Raptors have assembled a team in the image of Bryan Colangelo … and, it’s going to be most interesting, indeed, to see where they’ll go from here.
Tags: Alex English, Boston Celtics, Bryan Colangelo, Chris Bosh, Jay Triano, Marc Iavaroni, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Tom Thibodeau, Toronto Raptors
November 29th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Why the hell are you picking on Triano for the train-wreck that was the Pierce on Bosh slam? If Triano’s words are what bothers you most, well, that’s just plain f****** up.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Two Words:
Doc Rivers.
But seriously, try to avoid blanket statements like the ones you’ve written above. You have a point, but this post is written with such an obvious lack of objectivity that you just end up undermining yourself.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:21 am
There have been some very disconcerting statements being made around the Raps.
The “contract year” issues may have over-taken the coaches and players.
The team needs to be a team - not a group hoping Chris Bosh doesn’t want to leave. That is a situation for players not giving a sh1t when someone gets knocked down.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
eyebleaf,
1. I’m not picking on Triano at all.
2. What I said identified only that the words which Jay Triano used to discuss this matter in public are NOT the type of words which a Top Notch NBA head coach would have used.
i. Top Notch NBA head coaches are aware of everything that happens with their team.
ii. Those same coaches do NOT speak in terms of hypotheticals.
i.e. “If I was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, I would …”
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If you do not realize the ramifications of having a head coach who says stuff like THAT then this tells me that you are not someone who has ever played or coached the game at a very high level yourself.
PS. Feel free to correct me, if I happen to be wrong about that reality.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
stevezy,
re: “Two Words:
Doc Rivers.”
Please go ahead and explain further what you mean by these cryptic words.
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re: “But seriously, try to avoid blanket statements like the ones you’ve written above. You have a point, but this post is written with such an obvious lack of objectivity that you just end up undermining yourself.”
According to you …
What blanket statements did I make above?
What about what I wrote indicates a lack of objectivity?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
brothersteve,
re: There have been some very disconcerting statements being made around the Raps.
Agreed.
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re: The “contract year” issues may have over-taken the coaches and players.
I’m not in agreement with this perspective. Dealing effectively with contract situations like Chris Bosh’s are an everyday occurrence in the business of the NBA.
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re: The team needs to be a team - not a group hoping Chris Bosh doesn’t want to leave. That is a situation for players not giving a sh1t when someone gets knocked down.
“a group hoping that Chris Bosh doesn’t want to leave” would CHOOSE “to pick him up whenever he gets knocked down to the floor” … so I don’t see the applicability of that comparison at all, unless of course you are asserting that this specific group of players might actually NOT WANT Chris Bosh to be retained by the Raptors, which would account for the fact that they left him on the floor, in the first place.
I do not agree that this is what this group of players happens to be thinking about Chris Bosh’s future status with the team.
IMO, Bryan Colangelo has simply assembled an ill-advised collection of players and coaches which has poor team cohesion … in a similar way to the group from the 2007-2008 season that finished 41-41.
Putting a championship calibre basketball team together is a much more difficult task than many people truly understand.
IMO, neither Bryan nor Jerry Colangelo has been very good at it over their years in the NBA.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I agree with your POV here… JT’s comments seem to almost place the blame on CB4 for not being more upset with his teammates (!!) than on his teammates for not supporting him.
I think you misinterpreted brothersteve’s comment — I think he means to say that where a team’s focus is NOT winning, but rather some tertiary objective, that team tends not to come together with the same passion as does a team focused on winning. So, while this group of raps might “hope CB4 doesn’t leave,” that sentiment, in itself, is not enough to spur the bench out of its seats and onto the court without hesitation (i.e. in a moment of passion about a teammate). Being fully committed to winning, on the other hand, might/should/is enough to spur that reaction. But, that’s just my interpretation of what someone else said…
The loss to PHX was a sorry display of indifferent basketball.