khandor’s sports blog

Raptors remain clueless, when it comes to fixing problems

At some point, the days eventually begin to run together, in Raptorville.

The same problems occur from one season to the next and, seemingly, never ever get fixed properly.

——————————————–

Feschuk: Listless Raptors puzzle GM Colangelo

“I’ve got a lot of suspicions, I guess, of what’s gone wrong. It hasn’t been the same since the all-star break,” Colangelo said. “Too many guys came back from the break with a different approach. And that’s the part that’s troubling. … It’s not a talent issue. And it’s clear that the right message is being delivered (by the coaching staff). But the students have to carry out the agenda. And it’s got to be a team agenda. It can’t be an individual agenda.”

——————————————–

Is removing Jose Calderon from the starting line-up, once again, really going to solve their on-going problems at the defensive end of the floor?

Chisholm: Triano sending the wrong message

Is removing DeMar DeRozan from the starting line-up, for the first time this season, really going to be the catalyst for a substantive change in the way that this team approaches the business of rebounding and being able to fight back when things don’t quite go according to plan, in a given quarter, half, or game? … as other legitimate contending teams have always done in the history of the NBA.

Is asking Chris Bosh [i.e. the team's best player, by a wide margin] … the same question, again, and again:

“What’s wrong with you guys?”

really going to illicit a pearl of wisdom that, if said out loud to the reporters in a post practice/game media scrum, is going to miraculously change the culture which exists within their locker-room?

———————————–

The reality of the Raptors’ current situation is this:

1. Once the trade deadline has passed, there is very little that can be done to fundamentally alter the personnel on a team’s roster.

2. Firing their head coach makes little sense, given that he was hand-picked by the GM to run the day-to-day operation only 9 months ago, and the organization is still paying the salary of its former head coach [i.e. Sam Mitchell], who was fired in December of last season.

3. The team’s defensive woes have NOT been rooted in the mediocre-to-poor play of Jose Calderon, who is comparable … as a less-than stellar individual defender with a solid offensive game … to 6 of the other starting Point Guards for the Top 15 teams in the league [i.e. see the chart below].

STARTING 5 COMPOSITION FOR TOP 15 TEAMS COMPARED WITH TORONTO RAPTORS [as of Thu Mar 25 2010]
Rank	Team	Record	PG						OG				SF				PF				C
			TS%		DEF			TReb	TS%	DEF		TReb	TS%	DEF		TReb	TS%	DEF		TReb	TS%	DEF		TReb
1	CLE	57-15	Williams						Parker				James				Jamison				Hickson
			57.2		1.37		3.1		57.5	1.38	2.7		60.6	2.80	7.3		51.6	2.20	7.8		58.0	0.91	4.5
			>		-		-		>	-	<		>	>	>		<	>	-		-	<	<
2	LAL	53-18	Fisher						Bryant				Artest				Gasol				Bynum
			49.8	1.91		1.9			54.8	2.15	5.3		54.2	1.88	4.3		58.5	2.43	11.1		61.0	2.05	8.4
			<	>		<			>	>	>		-	>	-		>	>	>		>	-	-
3	ORL	50-22	Nelson						Carter				Barnes				Lewis				Howard
			53.0	1.07		2.7			53.9	1.13	4.1		57.5	1.29	5.6		57.0	1.51	4.6		63.3	3.69	13.1
			-	<		-			-	<	>			-	-		>	<	<		>	>	>
T-4	DEN	47-25	Billups						Afflalo				Anthony				Martin				Nene
			61.8	1.41		3.0			57.7	1.10	2.8		55.5	1.84	6.7		48.4	2.31	9.6		63.4	2.71	7.8
			>	-		-			>	<	<		>	>	>		<	>	>		>	-	-
T-4	DAL	47-25	Kidd						Butler				Marion				Nowitzki				Haywood
			57.6	2.54		5.4			50.5	2.25	4.4		53.5	1.82	6.7		57.1	2.17	7.7		58.7	2.44	8.1
			>	>		>			-	>	>		<	>	>		>	>	-		-	-	-
T-4	UTA	47-25	Williams						Matthews				Kirilenko				Boozer				Okur
			57.2	1.75		4.0			58.8	1.15	2.1		59.1	2.86	4.6		59.4	1.68	11.1		55.0	2.05	6.9
			>	>		>			>	<	<		>	>	-		>	-	>		-	-	<
T-7	BOS	46-25	Rondo						Allen				Pierce				Garnet				Perkins
			54.5	2.67		4.4			59.5	1.29	3.3		61.5	2.10	4.3		58.2	1.95	7.4		61.8	2.16	7.7
			-	>		>			>	<	-		>	>	-		>	-	-		>	-	-
T-7	ATL	46-25	Bibby						Johnson				Williams				Smith				Horford
			53.7	1.16		2.2			53.5	1.35	4.7		54.2	1.45	5.3		53.8	4.09	8.8		60.2	1.94	9.7
			-	<		<			-	-	>		-	-	-		-	>	-		>	-	>
9	PHO	45-26	Nash						Richardson				Hill				Stoudemire				Lopez
			61.4	1.14		3.3			57.3	1.49	5.4		56.3	1.56	5.5		61.5	1.90	8.8		57.2	2.60	8.8
			>	<		-			>	-	>		>	-	-		>	-	-		-	-	-
10	OKC	43-27	Westbrook						Sefolosha				Durant				Green				Krstic
			49.4	1.87		5.0			49.0	1.91	4.9		60.2	2.33	7.5		53.5	2.23	6.1		51.6	1.30	5.0
			<	>		>			<	>	>		>	>	>		-	>	<		<	<	<
11	POR	43-29	Miller						Roy				Batum				Aldridge				Camby
			52.8	1.59		3.3			56.7	1.44	4.5		67.9	1.69	3.7		53.1	1.54	8.1		38.2	4.08	9.8
			-	-		-			>	-	>		>	-	<		-	-	-		<	>	>
12	SAS	42-28	Parker						Ginobili				Jefferson				McDyess				Duncan
			54.7	0.84		2.4			58.0	2.30	3.7		54.7	1.22	4.3		49.1	1.02	5.8		55.6	2.20	10.3
			-	<		<			>	>	-		-	-	-		<	<	<		-	-	>
13	MIL	39-31	Jennings						Delfino				Salmons				LRMAM				Bogut
			47.5	1.64		3.5			52.9	1.49	5.4		58.4	1.59	3.2		54.6	1.58	5.5		53.9	3.79	10.3
			<	>		-			-	-	>		>	-	<		>	-	<		<	>	>
14	MEM	38-34	Conley						Mayo				Gay				Randolph				Gasol
			52.2	1.61		2.3			55.2	1.69	3.8		53.8	2.42	5.9		54.9	1.46	11.9		61.9	3.18	9.5
			-	>		<			>	-	-		-	>	>		>	<	>		>	>	>
T-15	MIA	38-34	Arroyo						Wade				Richardson				Beasley				O’Neal
			51.1	0.69		1.7			55.3	3.01	4.7		56.6	1.49	4.9		51.1	1.69	6.5		56.2	2.25	7.2
			-	<		<			>	>	>		>	-	-		<	-	<		-	-	-
T-15	CHA	37-34	Felton						Jackson				Wallace				Diaw				Chandler
			51.6	1.97		3.7			51.9	2.63	5.1		59.0	3.30	10.5		55.2	1.54	5.1		59.5	1.58	6.3
			-	>		-			-	>	>		>	>	>		>	-	<		-	<	<

18	TOR	35-35	Calderon						DeRozan				Turkoglu				Bosh				Bargnani
			57.5	1.11		2.2			53.9	1.05	3.0		54.2	1.16	4.5		59.1	1.71	11.1		55.7	1.84	6.0
			>	<		<			-	<	-		-	<			>	-	>		-	<	<
LEGEND: Red – 1 dimensional, Offensive focus; Yellow – 1 dimensional, Defensive focus; Blue – 1 dimensional, Rebounding focus; Orange – 2 dimensional, Offensive + Defensive focus; Purple – 2 dimensional, Offensive + Rebounding focus; Green – 2 dimensional, Defense + Rebounding focus; Brown – 3 dimensional, Offensive + Defensive + Rebounding focus; TS% – True shooting percentage; DEF – Defensive plays made per game; TReb – Total rebounds per game; > – Superior rating; – Average rating; < Inferior rating.

4. The team’s defensive woes have NOT been rooted in the mediocre-to-poor play of DeMar DeRozan, who is the most effective Off Guard on their roster, given the individual short-comings of Antoine Wright, Sonny Weems and Marco Belinelli, none of whom are comparable to the starting players for the Top 15 teams in the league [i.e. see the chart below].

TS%	DEF	TReb
DeRozan
53.9	1.05	3.0
-	<	-
Wright
49.9	0.75	2.6
<	<	<
Weems
51.9	0.80	2.4
-	<	<
Belinelli
54.5	0.98	1.5
-	<	<

5. The most significant difference between Toronto’s starting line-up and the Top 15 teams in the league is at the Center position.

6. Opposite to what Bryan Colangelo might actually think:

* TENACITY is, in fact, a most valuable TALENT in the NBA … since every player does not have it in the same quantity;

and,

* The wrong message is, in fact, being sent whenever a NBA team uses an offensively focused player as its starting Center … while it does not also have a DOMINANT, multi-dimensional, Small Forward in its best Group of 5.

7. If Chris Bosh is, in fact, the best player on your team, by a wide margin, and Jose Calderon is, in fact, the best offensively focused Point Guard, and Hedo Turkoglu is, in fact, the best offensively focused Small Forward, then you simply CANNOT HAVE have another offensively focused player as your starting Center … if you want your team to exhibit the type of TENACITY that’s required to fight back from adverse situations which occur in NBA games.

8. Andrea Bargnani is the player who NEEDS to be removed from the team’s starting line-up, if Toronto is going to turn around its lost season.

———-

PS. FYI, the stats shown here for TS%, DEF and TReb are from hoopdata.com.

Tags: Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Antoine Wright, Bryan Colangelo, Chris Bosh, Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Jay Triano, Jose Calderon, Marco Belinelli, Marcus Banks, Patrick O'Bryant, Rasho Nesterovic, Reggie Evans, Sonny Weems, Toronto Raptors

This entry was posted on Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Analytics, Basketball, NBA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

11 Responses to “Raptors remain clueless, when it comes to fixing problems”

ezz_bee Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Interesting logic… but even if your argument is valid bargs must be replaced with someone else. Who? Rasho? Evans? Johnson? You never say who should replace him. Is it obvious and I’m missing it? Isn’t that what BC was trying to do when he picked up O’neal last season? Can’t we start bargs and send Turk to the bench instead?
Toronto Raptors Morning Coffee March 27 | Slam Dunking Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 9:26 am
[...] Khandor’s Sports Blog The reality of the Raptors’ current situation is this: [...]
gmc765 Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Here we go again, whenever the Raptors are losing Khandor will pop up from nowhere and will start bashing Andrea. Hey where are you when they are winning? Stats are nothing and not the real gauge, a good example of this is your idol Chris Bosh, he is always considered by many as a double-double guy but why don’t you check the player he is guarding every game day and surely you will find that 90% of the time they have increased their numbers both in point scored as well as board recovery ( I can backed it up with the figures if you want), whatever he produces is negated by the opposing team. For the starting unit I will always pick Jarret over Jose in point guard, Sonny Weems as the other guard, Hedo at small forward with Andrea and Chris. I hope next time you will be more objective with regards to your assessment of the team as well as the players and not be blinded by sheer love for Mr. Bosh. Please be with us not only when we are losing but as well as when we are winning. Enough said.
Mauro Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Khandor, you scared the hell off Andrea!.
That’s from where the 15th boards come from…
What about your best player in the team demanding 130 Million?
Will he use some of those money to purchase something to remove the butter from his finger ? I sure hope so
ciao
khandor Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
ezz bee,

1. Welcome aboard!

2. Johnson, Nesterovic and Evans would each be a better fit in the Raptors’ starting unit than Bargnani is beside players like:

Jose Calderon [best PG by a wide margin]
DeMar DeRozan [best OG by a wide margin]
Hedo Turkoglu [best SF by default]

and

Chris Bosh [best player by a wide margin].

3. Johnson, Nesterovic and Evans are NOTHING like Jermaine O’Neal.

If Bryan Colangelo would simply not have traded for JO 2 summers ago …

and, instead, stayed the course with a 3 big rotation of:

i. Bosh/C and Humphries/PF, or
ii. Bosh/C and Nesterovic/PF,

with Bargnani as the 3rd wheel, coming off the bench, as I suggested back then …

the Raptors would be so much further ahead of where they stand today [i.e. 2008-2009/33-49; and, 2009-2010/35-36], it’s not even funny.

4. Unfortunately, it’s almost to the point now that it doesn’t really matter how much Bargnani actually improves, going forward from here, as the lack of consistent progress he has shown over his first 4 years in the league HAS already cost this franchise dearly.

5. Sending Turkoglu to the bench … or, packing to a different city altogether … are most definitely other options for the Raptors to consider.

i.e. It’s by no means a coincidence that Bargnani played better last night with Turkoglu out of the line-up completely and with Weems and Wright in as starters, beside Bosh and Calderon, with DeRozan coming in from the bench.

Between that specific option, however, and the other options which I’ve outlined above … i.e. concerning Bargnani’s removal from the starting unit … the better way to go with this year’s team involves using the former 2006 No. 1 [overall] Draft Pick as instant offense off the bench and making HIM the prime scoring focus of the team whenever Chris Bosh is off the floor.
khandor Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
gmc765,

In general, Bargnani plays lousy defense and does a poor job rebounding.

Whether the Raptors win, or lose, specifically, is not part of the equation.

There’s no sense in pointing it out, repeatedly, however, when the Raptors lose because most of those in Raptorville are more concerned with the W.

In general:

When the Raptors win …

- they get a good offensive performance from Bargnani
- they get good performances all around from their other players
- they get a poor defensive and rebounding performance from Bargnani

When the Raptors lose …

Option 1

- they get a good offensive performance from Bargnani
- they get less-than good performances all around from their other players
- they get a poor defensive and rebounding performance from Bargnani

Option 2

- they get a less-than good offensive performance from Bargnani
- they get less-than good performances all around from their other players
- they get a poor defensive and rebounding performance from Bargnani

Do you notice the constant?

——————————————————–

re: Who Bosh is checking

Bosh is a mediocre defender at the PF position.

Bosh is an average to above average defender at the C position, except against rare players like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.

When Bosh is playing beside Bargnani, and Bargnani is checking the opponent’s Center, and Bosh gets lit up on the defensive end of the floor …

Do you realize that it only serves to STRENGTHEN the perspective which holds that Bargnani is the one who has no business being on the floor beside a player like Chris Bosh … who is so much better than Bargnani, it isn’t funny … because it means that Bosh is then prevented from being able to check the position at which HE ACTUALLY DEFENDS THE BEST [with quickness rather than strength/power], in the NBA game?

[Aside: It can be hilarious dealing with certain individuals on-line who fail to see this type of simplistic information about how the game is actually played at the highest levels, yet still feel the need to try and put down a player like Chris Bosh for being a poor defensive player overall.]

——————————————————–

re: Jack + Weems + Turkoglu + Bosh + Bargnani

You are certainly entitled to choose Jack over Calderon.

Either Weems or DeRozan is fine by me, provided that Wright doesn’t ever get to play.

I would almost always choose to go with someone other than Turkoglu, as my SF, if I had the choice.

Turkoglu is mediocre at everything and very good at almost nothing.

Bosh is a quality Center, in the NBA, and an above average Power Forward. I would choose to play him at Center, exclusively.

Bargnani can only check a power-based player, at the Center position.

Bargnani is still one of the main problems with this team.

I don’t waste my time bigging up a team/player when it/he does a couple of things well and a whole bunch of things poorly … especially, if what it/he is doing is winning in spite of its/his many deficiencies, through a combination of opponent errors and fortunate circumstances.

It’s much better to remain silent until there’s a good reason to say something which is important to say.
khandor Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Mauro,

It would take me as little as 1 season to turn Andrea Bargnani into an NBA All-Star calibre player.

Do not get the wrong impression that I think Bargnani is useless.

There are all sorts of players in this world who perform poorly, on a regular basis, because they are not coached and/or GM’ed the way that they need to be coached/GM’ed, in order to perform at their maximum capacity.

Bargnani’s best position in the NBA is Back-up Center.

Until he’s used in this way … it’s a waste of time, energy and resources.

————-

Bosh, on the other hand, is a terrific Starting Center, if you know how to use him properly, and surround him with the right kind of teammates and coaches.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, however … using Chris Bosh as your starting PF is a waste of time, energy and resources.
gmc765 Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Chris Bosh a terrific starting centre, you must be dreaming.
khandor Says:
March 27th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
gmc765,

Dealing with supposed Raptors “fans” like you, who have a hate on for Chris Bosh, as a Starting Center in the NBA, is hilarious.

How many other starting centers in the NBA do you count as being better than Chris Bosh?

Eastern Conference

CLEVELAND – O’Neal [stand-off between his power & Chris' quicks]
BOSTON – Perkins
ORLANDO – Howard [stand-off between his power & Chris' quicks]
ATLANTA – Horford
MILWAUKEE – Bogut
MIAMI – O’Neal
CHARLOTTE – Chandler
CHICAGO – Noah
NEW YORK – Lee
PHILADELPHIA – Dalembert
INDIANA – Hibbert
DETROIT – Wallace
WASHINGTON – Blatche
NEW JERSEY – Lopez

Western Conference

LA LAKERS – Bynum
DENVER – Nene [stand-off between his power and Chris' quicks]
DALLAS – Haywood
UTAH – Okur
PHOENIX – Lopez
OKLAHOMA CITY – Krstic
SAN ANTONIO – Duncan [Tim gets the edge, as a HOF Center, who's not old just yet]
PORTLAND – Camby
MEMPHIS – Gasol
HOUSTON – Ming [stand-off between his size and Chris' quicks]
NEW ORLEANS – Okafor
LA CLIPPERS – Kaman
SACRAMENTO – Hawes
GOLDEN STATE – Biedrins
MINNESOTA – Jefferson

LOL,

I count, possibly, 5 [out of 29] … and, as few as only 1 [i.e. the Big Fundamental].

————————————

The fact is …

* Chris Bosh has zero problems, in this league, when he gets to play the Center position … and, neither does his team.
Scott G Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
hmm… interesting that you have Shaq in that group. Given his declining athleticism, I’m not sure I agree. I think Bynum, Bogut, Horford and possibly B. Lopez are better than Shaq right now. (Except if playing against DH12, in which case Shaq is quite useful…)
khandor Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Scott G.,

Although I have Shaq in the group along with Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Nene … it is somewhat deceiving, since I would also rate the members of that group in the following way:

1. Tim Duncan … better than Bosh
————————
2. Dwight Howard … even with Bosh, as they can each take advantage of the other
3. Nene … even with Bosh, as they can each take advantage of the other
————————
4. Yao Ming … behind Bosh, as CB4 will simply wear him down in an up-tempo game
5. Shaquille O’Neal … now behind Bosh, as CB4 will simply wear him down in an up-tempo game; but, formerly, was superior to Bosh, ala Timmy D.

With LeBron James, as his side-kick, however, Shaq can still do considerable damage to Chris Bosh, in a slow-down game, if CB4 has to play him with single coverage in the low post.

As a basketball player, overall … yes, I agree with your take that Shaq is no longer anywhere close to Misters Horford, Bynum and Lopez-B.

Raptors remain clueless, when it comes to fixing problems

11 Responses to “Raptors remain clueless, when it comes to fixing problems”

Leave a Reply