khandor’s sports blog

In response to a most interesting article by David Berri …

The Impact of Losing Greg Oden
The primary purpose of this post was to highlight how good Oden had played this season (to see how good, please read the post).  Certainly it’s possible that the Blazers could overcome this loss.  But it seems fairly likely that Portland’s season is not going to go quite as well as I thought earlier this year. 

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1. The Blazers were NEVER going to be the best team in the West this season.

2. The Blazers’ overall development arc, as “one of the best teams in the West”, will involve a wider sweep than just 2 or 3 seasons.

3. The problems with this year’s Blazers [at least, so far] this season were not rooted in the play of Greg Oden but in the following list of developments from the last 6 months:

i. Unnecessarily soliciting the services of Hedo Turkoglu [SF/Orlando who eventually signed with Toronto as an UFA], which upset/disrupted the flow they had been developing with Travis Outlaw [PF-SF] and Rudy Fernandez [SF-OG-PG];

ii. Unnecessarily signing a superfluous, ball-dominating PG, like Andre Miller [as an UFA/Philadelphia];

iii. The protracted contract extension negotiations with Brandon Roy [OG-PG-SF] and LaMarcus Aldridge [PF-C]; and,

iv. Re-integrating Martell Webster [OG-SF], a top 8 player, returning from an injury-lost season, into their everyday rotation.

v. The injury sufferred by Nicolas Batum [SF-OG], a long and athletic player who can Defend and Rebound at his specific positions;

vi. The injury sufferred by Travis Outlaw [PF-SF], an under-sized but very versatile and effective player who can: A. take/make big [jump] shots [catch & shoots, plus pull-ups] in the 4th quarter; B. Defend, at the #3/SF or #4/PF with good length and athleticism; and, C. Rebound, at the #/SF or #4/PF position with good length and athleticism.

vii. The long term effects of the “health scare” which their owner, Paul Allen, had last season, that artificially “pushed forward” the team’s perceived “development arc” this past summer in a way which their team was unprepared to cope with at this time … i.e. trying to “win now [!]” instead of gradually continuing their “incremental build-up” over an extended number of years [5-7?].

If Kevin Pritchard truly understands what’s been happening with his squad this season, from a team-building standpoint, then, what he’ll do now is:

I. Not try to “replace” Oden from outside his current group of players;

II. Continue to repair their internal relationships with Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez;

III. Move Andre Miller for another better-fitting asset, asap;

IV. Allow his group of Core Players to continue to grow together organically … while integrating this off-season’s main additions from the 2009 NBA Draft, i.e. Dante Cunningham [PF-SF], Patrick Mills [PG] and Jeff Pendergraph [PF].

If Kevin Pritchard does things things and then simply waits on the eventual return of Greg Oden … what he’ll have on his hands, 2 seasons from now, is a fully grown team that is ready, willing and able to challenge the Lakers, as the No. 1 outfit in the West, just as Kobe Bryant’s “development arc” is finally beginning to flow downwards its end-point.

On the other hand …

If Kevin Pritchard does not understand these things about the state of his own team, then, what he’ll do instead is “continue to try and rush” the Blazers through this key stage of their “upward arc” … which involves “learning how to lose before learning how to win”, just like Jordan’ Bulls and Zeke’s Pistons and Hakeem’s Rockets and Robinson’s [and Duncan’s] Spurs and Shaq/Kobe’s Lakers each went through before emerging as multiple-time league champions … then what he’ll do is make the WRONG MOVE at the WRONG TIME and end up blowing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which has come his way in Portland, i.e. to construct one of the NBA’s all-time great franchises with the likes of [youngsters] Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless, Dante Cunningham, Patrick Mills, Jeff Prendergraph and [a healthy] GREG ODEN, plus [oldsters] Joel Przybilla [C], Steve Blake [PG] and Juwan Howard [PF].

The ball is in Kevin Pritchard’s court.

For the Blazers’ sake, it’s important that he doesn’t drop it.

PS. FWIW … Please know that ”curses” do not exist in pro sports. Poor decision-making skills - e.g. bringing injured players back too soon, acquiring ill-fitting players, trying to speed up the development process, etc. - on the other hand, can be found in abundance.

Related:

Latest injury will derail Oden for good

Where to now for Portland?

Blazers confirm Oden’s season is over

Blazers take another small step forward

Hopefully you, the visitor/reader, will take the time to click on each of the links you see below.

If you do … slowly but surely … a picture should begin to emerge which will help you to better understand the current, and on-going, “crisis” in Raptorville.

Like most good things in life, it really does take time … and, patience, diligence, expertise, well-honed instincts, perseverance, etc. … to build and, then, thoroughly understand something - or someone - of substance and authentic high quality.  

Here goes …

[for your added benefit, the most important/pertinent ones are marked with an asterisk/*]

1. You Make The Call [Mar 18 2008] *
2. Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc … [Apr 11 2008] *
3. Two solitudes in Raptorland [Apr 16 2008] *

4. Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & coaches [Apr 30 2008] *
5. Understanding Bryan Colangelo’s method of operation (good & bad) [Jul 02 2008] *
6. Talking the talk, already … in Raptorville [Sep 29 2008]

7. Deciphering the correct code for the Raptors [Dec 3 2008]
8. Wait a second … what’s really going on here [Dec 04 2008] *
9. What’s really going on here … Part II [Dec 05 2008] *
10. Respect for tellers of truths [Dec 8, 2009]
11. Understanding the Role of Defense in the NBA [Mar 11 2009]
12. Truth Tellers Beware - The REAL reason Sam Mitchell was fired by the Raptors [Mar 11 2009] *
13. In Raptorville, something changed last night … and it wasn’t good [Mar 12 2009] *
14. What observations like these SHOULD tell you about the quality of your player roster [Mar 13 2009] *
15. Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & faces of the franchise [Mar 25 2009]

16. State of the Raptors Address by Bryan Colangelo [Apr 20 2009] *
- this has Six [6] Parts to it and you need to watch each one
17. Assessing Bryan Colangelo’s Press Conference [Apr 21, 2009] *
18. Worst Owner in major North American pro sport? … You Make The Call [May 14 2009] 
19. Raptors might be Lottery bound, once again, after the 2009-2010 season [May 20 2009]
20. Five off-season moves for the Raptors which would have helped to address their Treadmill status [May 29, 2009]
21. Lack of Quality Depth is a major problem for the Raptors [May 29 2009]
22. Original Sin, in Raptorville [Jun 02 2009]
23. Knowing who the Raptors’ FOUNDATION player is [Jun 04, 2009] *
24. Local media for the Raptors is beginning to lay blame in the right place, at last [Jun 04 2009] *
25. Where will Andrea Bargnani rank in the Eastern Conference next year, as a Center? … You Make The Call [Jun 05 2009] *
26. Where for art thou, Saviour, in Raptorville? [Jun 06 2009] *
27. Could a Bargnani trade benefit the Raptors? [Jun 11 2009] *
28. Raptors fans: What would happen, if … [Jun 17 2009]
29. In the NBA Eastern Conference … It’s not hard to tell which one is which? [Jun 25 2009] *
30. 2009 NBA Draft Trackers for the Raptors [Jun 26 2009]
31. Raptors’ best possible line-up, as of June 30 2009 [Jun 30 2009]
32. Which franchise made out best from 4 team trade? [Jul 10 2009]
33. What the 4-team trade was REALLY about from the Raptors’ perspective [Jul 11 2009]
34. When three birds of a different feather flock together, it’s a poor omen for the Raptors [Jul 14 2009] *
35. Early look at NBA rosters: Eastern Conference [Aug 17 2009] *
36. Interesting [accurate?] POV on the Raptors, under Bryan Colangelo [Aug 24. 2009]
37. Initial thoughts on the Raptors talent base compared with the previous 3 seasons [Aug 24 2009] *
38. Strength of the Eastern Conference compared to 2006-2007 [Aug 25 2009]
39. Raptors Bench Strength: In eye of beholder [Aug 28 2009] *
40. YOU MAKE THE CALL: Best possible group of wing players for the 2009-2010 Raptors? [Aug 31 2009]
41. YOU MAKE THE CALL: Available Roster Options for the Raptors, 2009-2010 [Sep 02 2009]
42. How the Eastern Conference looks for ‘09-10, based on individual player ratings, by position [Sep 08 2009] *
43. Raptors improvement relative to other teams in division & conference [Sep 14 2009] *
44. Thumb-down 35 special … for the Raptors [Sep 18 2009] *
45. How the Raptors could be improved with Player X replacing Bargnani [Sep 18 2009] *
46. Uh-Oh, here he goes again [Sep 28, 2009] *
47. All the problems have been fixed with a Radical Roster Make-over? [Sep 29. 2009] *
48. Toronto Raptors Season Preview: Games 1-20 [Oct 20 2009]

49. Raptors half-way through their first 20 games [Nov 16 2009]
50. Raptors’ crunch time starts today vs Magic [Nov 22 2009]
51. Raptors punked by Celtics, according to Wright [Nov 28 2009] *
52. Ominous words … in Raptorville [Nov 29 2009] *
53. Source of Raptors’ on-going defensive problems [Dec 01 2009]
54. What the Raptors SHOULD do right NOW to improve their performance against High End opponents [Dec 02 2009] *
55. Raptors at the 20 game mark, exactly where an astute observer SHOULD have expected them to be [Dec 03 2009] *

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When yours truly has occasion to read an article in which the Raptors’ GM is quoted as saying: 

Colangelo doesn’t pass the buck

- “At the end of the day, there’s a lot of talk about this being about coaching and systems and things like that,” said Colangelo, who was en route yesterday to meet his team in Washington for tonight’s game against the Wizards. “But at the end of the day if you’re looking for someone to blame, you can point to me because I’m ultimately the one responsible for putting this group together.”

- “The poor performance defensively has disrupted the other, more positive things we’ve been doing and the team is in a funk,” Colangelo said. “It happens in the course of an NBA season, and it’s up to us to get them out of it.”

- “This team has far too much talent to cast off or give up on. I have no doubt these guys can play, but talk is cheap.”

- “We can change the system and tweak it all we want, but it still comes down to execution and effort by the players,” Colangelo said. “It’s been very disappointing.”

and, then,

read a column by Dave Feschuk, in which he has revealing quotes from the team’s former head coach that read like this:

Mitchell has advice for Triano

- “At some point you hope the owners start realizing that you just can’t coach in this league without having coached,” Mitchell was saying the other night. “People sit there and think they can do it. … If you could just do the Xs and Os, yeah, you might figure that out. But it’s, how do you deal with people? How do you deal with your team when you’re down 20 at halftime? You have to know when to kick ‘em in the ass, and you have to know when to go in there and put your arms around ‘em and love ‘em? … I had to learn that.”

- “People don’t understand how relentless I was on Jose and Chris. I cut ‘em no slack,” said Mitchell. “Andrea, it was different. I cut Andrea a lot of slack.“

- “You pick your spots,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes you just have to walk away and say, `Don’t say (anything). It’s a bad night. Don’t compound it.’ … And sometimes you really get on their ass after you win. … You pick your spots.”

and, then,

read a blog entry by Chris Black, in which he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, one by one … 

Dissecting a Disaster
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Mr. Feschuk is an intelligent writer. He knows there are certain things he can and cannot write in the paper. Jarrett Jack and Antoine Wright are both intelligent (if not exactly in-shape) basketball players. They know they can’t call out specific players in the papers.
However, if you read between the lines of Mr. Feschuk’s columns over the last two days, I think you’ll see that he’s saying the Raptors are growing frustrated about how Andrea Bargnani is treated by this organization.
You even get the sense from the Mitchell quote that he didn’t even want to cut Bargnani that much slack, that it was almost an organizational mandate to do so.
MY OWN OBSERVATION
As I mentioned earlier this week, I was at the Suns game on Sunday. On two separate occasions, Bargnani just totally forgot to rotate on defence (I’m sure he forgot to rotate many more times than that, but I’m just pointing these two out for a specific reason). After his gaffe led to dunks for the Suns, a visibly frustrated Hedo Turkoglu threw his hands in the air and said/yelled something in the direction of Bargnani. The Italian was naturally oblivious to Turkoglu’s criticism, and merely continued up the court, happily mouth-breathing away.

… what, then, becomes clear is:

I. Just how much on target the views expressed in this space have actually been for the last 2+ years, concerning the goings-on with the Toronto Raptors;

II. Just how much of a negative and divisive force Andrea Bargnani’s poor Defense and Rebounding have actually been within the Raptors’ team for the last several seasons; and,

III. Just how off-base is the Basketball Philosophy [and overall Basketball Acumen] of the Raptors’ Management Team, in terms of placing the correct value on:

A. Team [and Individual] Defense

B. Rebounding, and

C. Shared Team Offense,

when assessing the REAL ability of their players, compared to the other High End teams in the NBA.

Since the Boston Celtics of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and John Havlicek, etc., first established their pro hoops dynasty, more than 40 years ago, High End performers across the league have learned to value and identify the individual players, and coaches, and GMs, etc., with the personal attributes it takes to be able to WIN BIG, i.e. given their commitment to: i. Defense, ii. Rebounding, iii. Sharing The Ball, and, iv. Physical, Mental and Emotional Toughness.

When a franchise, at its core, has a Basketball Philosophy that DOES NOT reflect these basic, fundamental values … which dwells at the heart of the game and a successful team … it has very little hope of ever developing into a championship calibre organization in the NBA.

There are NO successful short-cuts in THIS game.   

Unfortunately, it’s articles and season forecasts like this …

No time to waste? Fast-forward through the 2009-2010 season
Surprise Team

They stand a far better chance of holding a UN summit than the Larry O’Brien trophy. But the Raptors, who speak more languages than Berlitz, will throw a memorable season-long going-away party for Chris Bosh. Six new players will figure into the rotation, which raises the possibility of a chaotic first few months. But everyone on the roster has a specific role. Ballhandling by Jose Calderon. Outside shooting by Andrea Bargnani. Rebounding by Reggie Evans. Toughness by Jarret Jack. Scoring off the dribble by Hedo Turkoglu. Young bounce by DeMar DeRozan. Defense by … um, oh well. You won’t fall in love with any one player, but you’ll fall in like with several. Plus, Bosh is playing for money. They’ll finish top-6 in the East, make the playoffs, pull a first-round surprise and then reach for a hanky when Bosh goes off to … drum roll … Miami.

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that consistently get it wrong/backwards, when it comes to, “How to properly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a NBA team,” considering the three main phases of the game: 1. Defense, 2. Rebounding, and 3. Offense.

Instead of including these five [5] simple words in the middle of this paragraph … regarding the Raptors’ collective inability to get stops at crucial times in games played this season, against quality opponents … and surrounding them with 140+ words about the:

- International flavour of the roster
- roster make-over this summer [with 9 new faces on-board]
- roles filled by only 6 players [in a game that needs, at least, 8-9]
- team’s offensive capabilities, i.e. ballhandling, shooting and scoring
- team’s infusion of toughness
- expectation to qualify for the playoffs and win a 1st Round series
- the possible departure of the team’s lone All-Star player

what Shaun Powell should have done is LEAD with it … since Defense and Rebounding are so much more important to a NBA team’s actual success or failure [as opposed to Offense, rumours and/or W-L predictions].

The teams that finish toward the top of the standings in this league, year-after-year, are the ones which perform the best in these two specific areas of the game, irrespective of the particular tools used to measure them, e.g. Points Differential, Points Allowed, Defensive Efficiency Ratings, Rebounding Differential, Rebounding Percentages and Ratings [etc.].

When any so-called “NBA analyst” uses a 30:1, like this, in her/his description of the prospects for a certain team [between the words devouted to "Offense and Others Things" vs "Defense and Rebounding"] what s/he’s really showing you is that s/he does NOT understand how the game works at this level of competition. 

The only people the Raptors are going to surprise this season are those who have yet to read the work of individuals like David Berri, John Hollinger, Brad Doolittle & Kevin Pelton, Wayne Winston … and yours truly.

For the benefit of Raptors fans everywhere …

The Toronto Raptors and the Stats Revolution
“I remember once having a conversation with a top executive with the Toronto Raptors. I asked her about the stats revolution in basketball and she just kind of shrugged and said, ‘It’s interesting, and we look at those things, but you have to understand that for our purposes, it’s all [about] character.’ The thing that separates players is that some have a work ethic, some don’t; some are coachable, some aren’t; some party all night, some go to bed early. From her standpoint, it’s all those intangibles.”
- Malcolm Gladwell

In reading this quote we have to remember… the Raptors have never won more than 47 games in a season, and have only advanced past the first round of the playoffs once.  Perhaps (just perhaps) there is more to player analysis than focusing on the ‘intangibles.’

One last observation… once upon a time I noted that the owner of the Raptors tried to get his general manager in basketball to read The Wages of Wins.  Maybe he will have more luck assigning our second book (am I being too snarky?  Sorry about that).

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as well as Misters Peddie, Colangelo, Gladwell and Berri …

For the benefit of those who may not have read it yet …

Can Toronto Build a Winner Around Bosh
When we put the entire picture together, it doesn’t look too good for fans of Toronto.  The Raptors will still employ the services of Calderon and Bosh, and these players produced about 21 wins last year.  And it’s possible that Turkoglu, Jack, Evans, and Johnson can contribute another 15 wins.  After these players, though, who else is going to produce significant quantity of wins?  And if no one else produces much, how will Bosh believe that the Raptors are building a contender?

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is a first-rate take by David Berri on the Raptors’ current situation.

Since his arrival in the NBA, 6 seasons ago, Chris Bosh has firmly established himself as one of the very best Big Men in the League … with an individual game that’s unique, as an under-sized Center, and in need of support from a group of talented teammates. Unfortunately, what has also happened during this same time-frame, repeatedly, is that the team’s ownership group [i.e. MLSE] and upper management have demonstrated an inability to make sound basketball-related decisions around him, based on an over-riding Plan of Attack geared toward the building of a championship-winning calibre team in Toronto, through the proper acquisition and retention of Top Notch NBA talent, which includes executives, coaches, support staff and players.

Understanding exactly what the Boston Celtics actually did 3 summers ago to transform their team into a legitimate title contender:

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1. Retain the services of a very good and already-proven NBA head coach;
2. Hold onto their already-established franchise player [i.e. Paul Pierce];
3. Trade an upcoming top draft pick for a 2nd established franchise player [i.e. Ray Allen];
4. Include their younger burgeoning talent [i.e. i. Al Jefferson, ii. Ryan Gomes, and iii. Sebastien Telfair] in a major trade for a 3rd “stud” player [i.e. The Big Ticket];
5. Keep a bedrock player like Kendrick Perkins [C], as a building block for their future team;
6. Draft another young stud at the PG position [i.e. Rajon Rondo], who other teams over-looked/under-valued; and, then,
7. Filled out the remainder of its roster with very serviceable players with great attitudes who were committed to winning a championship above all else.

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means that all is NOT lost for the Raptors, as long as they begin to identify accurately what their actual strengths and weaknesses are, relative to their competition.

What “regular Raptors fans” need to do is spend some more time figuring out who on their team fits properly into the corresponding roles of Wyc Grousbeck [i.e. MLSE?], Danny Ainge [i.e. Bryan Colangelo?], Doc Rivers [i.e. Jay Triano?], Paul Pierce [i.e. Chris Bosh!] and Ray Allen [?], Kevin Garnett [?], and Al Jefferson [i.e. Andrea Bargnani!!!], etc., and less time putting down the 5th best player in the brief history of the team [i.e. CB4] and his designated running mate [i.e. El Matador].

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PS. Those who think that Danny Ainge [GM] was operating without an over-riding Plan of Attack, based on his Basketball Acumen, simply do not know how the NBA actually works, or how a team needs to go about building a championship-winning organization, at the highest level of competition.

… it’s one of this corner’s all-time favourite pieces of music:

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and a source of real inspiration in connection with the view here towards today’s article [PG warning for language] from Matt Moore, on the role of “advanced stats” in the modern game of hoops vs good ole fashion Basketball Acumen.

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OPTION 1 is the Raptors current roster.

OPTION 2 is the roster which the team could/should have today … if it would have followed the advice of yours truly, and a GM like Joe Dumars, who has already won 3 NBA Championships …

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JD: When we had cap space maybe eight years ago, we made a decision then – there was a question back then about going out and trying to sign one big name with that money. We made a decision back then that we wanted to come out of that free agency with multiple players. We made the same decision this year – we’re not going to go out and sign one max player and then tout that we’ve had a great off-season. As we entered the summer, we were not one max player away from being a contender, so it made no sense to go out and target one guy. We wanted to come out of this free agency with a minimum of three guys and we’ve done that with Wilcox, with Villanueva, with Ben Gordon, and to be in a position financially to also sign a veteran big like we wanted to, to also have Ben Wallace, as well. To come out of it with three or four players, that’s what we wanted to do in the first place. We believe talent in numbers wins. That’s what we’re going to continue to try to do.
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… during the last 15 months, regarding:

* The trade for Jermaine O’Neal & Nathan Jawai last summer … i.e. DON’T DO IT;

* The trade for Shawn Marion & Marcus Banks this past season … i.e. DON’T DO IT; and,

* The sign & trade for Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright & Devean George this summer … i.e. DON’T DO IT;

in conjunction with:

* The proposed trade of TJ Ford last summer [i.e. acquiring Rodney Carney]; 

* The selection of Chris Douglas-Roberts [No. 17, overall] in the 2008 NBA Draft … which would have precluded the signing of Will Solomon;

and, certain other personnel moves which actually have been made during this same time period that were NOT disastrous, according to this corner, including:

* The trade for a future 2nd Round draft pick last season … which got rid of Hassan Adams; 

* The signing of Quincy Douby last season;

* The trade for Reggie Evans this summer … which got rid of Jason Kapono;

* The selection of DeMar DeRozan [No. 9, overall] in the 2009 NBA Draft Pick;

* The signing of Jarrett Jack [i.e. as an UFA] this summer;

* The signing of Rasho Nesterovic [i.e. as an UFA] this summer; and,

* The trade for Amir Johnson … which got rid of Roko Ukic & Carlos Delfino.

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The major problem with the Raptors has not been a dirth of solid secondary personnel moves but, rather, the team’s repeated attempts to SPEED UP the development process, by making BIG “Swing For Fences” MOVES … seemingly without a comprehensive, well-coordinated, long term plan Plan Of Attack … in an effort to become a contending team TOO SOON, which inevitably result in self-inflicted wounds, that retard legitimate progress and waste the opportunities at-hand for gradual, sustained growth into one of the best franchises in the NBA.

PS. When you compare these two rosters there should be NO DOUBT, whatsoever, as to which one has the greater number of high calibre, athletic, young players that could have formed the basis of a quality team in Toronto for the next decade.   

The following has got to be one of the most humourous headlines, in the 14-yr history of Raptorville, courtesy of Frank Zicarelli [long-time scribe for the Toronto Sun]:

Raptors defence looks terrific … in practice
Every defensive breakdown was broken down, regardless of who was getting exposed.

Whether it was off the dribble, in transition or off the ball, no player and no scenario was overlooked when the Raptors gathered yesterday in the wake of Wednesday’s capitulation in Philadelphia.

It seems as if every day the Raptors are being asked why defensive assignments aren’t getting executed and why players aren’t communicating.

It has become a daily ritual, a season-long deficiency that was punctuated in Toronto’s 115-106 loss to the host Sixers, a team that entered the evening with its own issues, but still managed to shoot 56% from the field, a number that hovered around 60% until it emptied its bench.

No one associated with the Raptors has any answers.

The unspoken words are that this group is simply too soft mentally and too thin on basketball IQ to defend any opponent for a 48-minute game.

It has never been corrected and, with time running out, it likely will linger into an off-season that promises to be one of profound change.

“I can deliver a positive message every day, but until we see we’re doing it, it’s an entirely different story,” said Chris Bosh ahead of tonight’s tip against the Detroit Pistons at the Air Canada Centre.

Interim head coach Jay Triano has made it a point to refrain from addressing the team following a loss. In his mind, he wants all emotions detached from the moment. And besides, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie.

But Triano and his staff broke down every defensive possession from Wednesday and shared the horrifying video evidence with their players yesterday.

Bosh, however, sees his teammates defend hard in practice and watches as each shot is contested.

“Sometimes you can’t even get your shot off,” Bosh said. “I just don’t [know] why it doesn’t transfer into games. We’re always talking about it. We can talk all we want, but it’s all about action.”

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What it also is, however, is a concise delineation of one of the MAJOR on-court problems with this year’s Raptors team; namely, the overall lack of Quality Depth on their roster, which was identified specifically, in advance, in this space,

Talking the talk, already … in Raptorville [Sep 29 2008],

during the pre-season.

When your team plays “well” in practices and competes “hard”, by all accounts … especially on the defensive end of the floor … but, then,  CONSISTENTLY SHOWS ITS DEFICIENCIES IN THIS SAME ASPECT OF THE GAME WHEN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS COME ONE … what it means is that:

The individuals who your players are competing against in those practices are, in fact, INFERIOR to those who they MUST compete against in their real-life games … by a wide margin.

Whether you’re team is prepared to acknowledge this, or not, is irrelevant.

When Sam Mitchell [former Head Coach] made observations like these:

Fore-warned is fore-armed [Wed Oct 29 2008]

during the pre-season,

… and, then, 5 months [and 42 losses!] later, your interim [former assistant] head coach makes the following observations:

Jay Triano’s post-practice interview [Thu Mar 12, 2009]:

it should tell you everything that you need to know about the quality of the player roster assembled by the Raptors this season, and that very little has actually changed with this team since the pre-season, re: the ability of its players to compete effectively on the defensive end of the floor, on a nightly basis in this league, relative to the best players in the world … who have both NBA Calibre Athleticism and NBA Calibre Hoop Smarts, in abundance.

You can slice an apple any way you’d like … but, in the end, it simply does NOT change what you’ll find at its Core.

When a team’s Won-Lost Record stands at 23-42/.354, in a season which began with the President/GM making a public statement that:

“This is the best team we’ve had, on paper.”

and, includes the dismissal of its head coach, only 17 games into the campaign, with an 8-9 mark …

the COLD, HARSH REALITY is that the MAIN on-court problem with this team, this season, is the Lack of Quality Depth on the roster, from Player #1-15 … which consistently plays itself out each day in practice, and in EVERY game, with the way they compete against One Another but, then, fall short against their Real-life Opponents.

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17 games left to go.

The Raptors’ President/GM was WRONG.

The 2009 NBA Draft Lottery awaits.

It’s a d*mn shame, too … considering what could have been heading into this season, i.e. Understanding Bryan Colangelo’s Method of Operation, re: Option 1 or Option 2.

The Other Side of the Indiana-Toronto Trade, by David Berri, should be mandatory reading for those who still don’t understand the strengths AND PARTICULARLY the weaknesses of the Raptors’ current GM, who has (i) de-constructed one solid franchise (Phoenix I), (ii) built one regular season but not playoff great good franchise (Phoenix II), and is in the process of (iii) re-building a second one of a similar ilk today (Toronto I).

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Let’s summarize all of this by considering the recent big moves in Toronto. 

• This year we have the O’Neal trade. When we consider O’Neal’s lack of productivity in 2007-08, the loss of T.J. Ford, and the loss of Toronto’s first round pick, it’s hard to see how this trade helps the Raptors.  
• Last year the Raptors signed Jason Kapono, who produced -2.0 wins this past season.  Not Bargnani bad, but still not a level of productivity that helps.   
• And then in 2006 the Raptors drafted Bargnani with the first pick overall.  Clearly this move hasn’t quite worked out either.

If we consider each of these major moves, it looks like the tenure of Bryan Colangelo has not been successful.  But then we consider the following names: Calderon, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, and Carlos Delfino.  Each of these players are above average talents who were acquired very cheaply by Colangelo. 

In sum - as I noted last January - Colangelo seems to have a knack for finding productive players who are also quite cheap.   It’s just the big decisions - trades, free agents signings, and the draft - that seem to cause problems.

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Do yourself a favour and read the entire article; it’s filled with pertinent information, if you’re a keen observer of the Raptors.

As with many people in Life, a strength is (simultaneously) also a point of weakness.

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Option 1: If the Raptors would have been able to acquire Jermaine O’Neal in exchange for Andrea Bargnani, straight-up, while keeping Rasho Nesterovic, then that would have been a solid trade for Toronto (if they wanted to try and win now and down-the-road), according to these eyes. Part II might have then involved trading TJ Ford (to Philadelphia) for a young, athletic and serviceable G/F, like Rodney Carney, and. keeping their #17 (Overall) Ist Round Draft Pick (i.e. Part III).

Option 2: If the Raptors would have been able to acquire Jermaine O’Neal in exchange for Andrea Bargnani plus TJ Ford, while keeping Rasho Nesterovic, then this, too, might have been a solid trade for Toronto (if they wanted to try and win now, plus down-the-road). Then, Part II would definitely have involved keeping their #17 Draft (Overall) 1st Round Draft Pick.

Option 3: What the Raptors actually did, though, is the one which presents the most risk (comparatively speaking) to the short & long term prospects for success of their team … when coupled with other cost-minimization decisions like (a) signing a low-end Free Agent for roster spot #12 (i.e. Hassan Adams) and early talk of signing only 1 more low-end Free Agent player, prior to the start of training camp, and going into the 2008-2009 season with a tighter playing rotation and a 13-man (NBA minimum-allowed) roster.

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In general, ‘activity‘ should not be confused with (actual) ‘accomplishment‘.