khandor’s sports blog

During Wednesday’s television broadcast of the Orlando/Toronto game, Jack Armstrong, Toronto’s analyst, made the following observation about the perceived talent level for this year’s Raptors team:  

Then, on Thursday evening , during the FAN590’s ”Hoops” broadcast, Eric Smith, Toronto’s radio analyst, tried to re-iterated this same point of view, when a caller suggested that the Charlotte Bobcats should actually be considered as “a better team with more NBA talent than the Raptors” … along with, at least, 4 other teams in the Estern Conference, i.e. Boston, Orlando, Cleveland and Atlanta.

After hearing Eric’s response to that caller, this is the exact comment [including errors] which was submitted by yours truly to his FAN590 blog, The Rap, on Friday, Dec 18 2009, at 2:17 PM:

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Hi, Eric.

I heard you on speak with a caller on last night’s show, just prior to 8:00 PM, concerning your belief that the Raptors [11-17/.393] are a better team than the Bobcats [10-14/.417]. According to what you said, your opinion was based on conversations you have had with various NBA insiders who you have encountered across the league and what their impression of Toronto and Charlotte has been to this point in the season.

Respectfully, it is my contention that you … and these NBA insiders who you happened to have communicated with regarding the relative strength of these two teams … happen to be incorrect in this assessment, and will eventually be proven wrong are the season plays itself out.

After starting the season poorly, without Stephen Jackson on their roster, the Bobcats have begun to climb up the standings in the Eastern Conference, and are now ahead of the Raptors. Although the Raptors [#4] have played a more difficult schedule than the Bobcats [#15], to this point, IMO, Charlotte has more “NBA talent” on its current roster, and should probably be expected to close out the current season by finishing ahead of Toronto in the final standings.

Calderon [+1] > Felton
DeRozan < Jackson [+1]
Turkoglu < Wallace [+2]
Bosh [+2] > Diaw
Bargnani < Chandler [+3]
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Jack = Augustin
Belinelli < Henderson [+4]
Wright < Brown [+5]
Johnson = Mohammed
Nesterovic [+3] > Diop
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Banks < Murray [+6]
Seems [+4] > Law
 Mensah-Bonsu = Graham
Evans [+5] ?
O’Bryant = Ajinca
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Triano < Brown [+7]

PS. Hopefully, the fanbase should now be able to see that we’ve been saying for a while now, re: Jose Calderon’s relative lack of individual defensive prowess not being the major catalyst for the team’s many short-comings on that side of the ball, has been a highly accurate assessment.

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As you can clearly see there are several typos and what appear to be “publication errors” contained in that specific comment, which was submitted rather hurriedly and is still awaiting moderation/publication at The Rap.

In an effort to clear up any mis-understanding which Eric Smith - or other visitors to his blog - might have … 

Here is a more “in-depth” analysis of the rosters for the Raptors and the Bobcats, with a few adjustments to the initial ratings that more accurately reflect the current state of affairs with these two teams, from the perspective of this coner:

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Visitors here are invited to elaborate further on their own answer to this question in the comments section.

Earlier in November, Bryan Colangelo was quoted in an interview with Eric Smith [FAN590], as saying:

“ … we’ll know what we’ve got by the end of the month.”

For the benefit of those now looking ahead in the schedule:

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Use the comments section to elaborate on your answer.

Related:

Raptors Face Major Decisions About Bosh and the Future

When it comes to commenting on the goings-on with the Toronto Raptors there are many individuals operating in the blogosphere today who do a good job, from the perspective of a basketball fan, including the likes of:

Doug Smith
Mike Ulmer
Frank Ziccarelli
Eric Smith
Scott Carefoot
Tim Chisolm
Holly McKenzie
The Arsenalist
Chris Black
Realgm-Toronto Raptors
etc., etc., etc.

However …

Part of the problem which exists, in Raptorville, is a general lack of “technical understanding and experience” when it comes to the subtle nuances involved with proper execution in the NBA game.

Exhibit A - Properly Understanding NBA Defense vs Pick and Roll/Pop Scenarios

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[unlike what is stated incorrectly in the video clip above ... ]

What you see when you click on the different links below, and watch the included video clip, are a few examples of the proper ways to view, “How Teams In The NBA Attempt To Defend Against The Pick And Roll/Pop With Varying Degrees Of Success“:

Every Play Counts: The Phoenix Pick-and-Roll

The Defense Never Rests: Neutralizing Nash

Pick and Roll Defense

Enjoy!

PS. The Raptors’ main problems yesterday against the Magic’s “3-5 Pick and Roll” were related to the lack of a “Secondary Rotation” AFTER the initial Switch was executed properly by Turkoglu and Bosh, like most good teams do when coming down the stretch of tight NBA games in the 4th quarter.

PPS. At one time, Del Harris had an excellent article available on-line, in a pdf file, which detailed the basic mechanics of proper “Pick and Roll Defense in the NBA” and contained accurate information concerning the application of “Secondary Rotations When Using Switch Techniques”. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be available. Should it ever re-surface, however, do yourself a favour and download it. It will help you to understand what it is the Raptors SHOULD be trying to do when they intitiate a “Switch” technique vs Pick and Rolls.

In the interview Bryan Colangelo did with Eric Smith [FAN590], prior to the Raptors’ win vs the Bulls [Nov 11 2009], he said the following words:

“We’ll know what we’ve got by the end of the month.”

The Bosh Factor: Bryan Colangelo Won’t Be Patient With Early Losses

At the time, Toronto’s W-L Record was 3-4/.429.

11 days later, it is now 6-7/.462, good enough for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Beginning with this afternoon’s home game vs Orlando, the Raptors will play 7 games over the next 11 days:

Game 14 Sun Nov 22 vs Orl [10-3/.769; 1st Southeast, 2nd EC]

Game 15 Tue Nov 24 vs Ind [5-5/.500; 4th Central, 8th EC]
Game 16 Wed Nov 25 @ CHA [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 10th (tie) EC]

Game 17 Fri Nov 27 @ BOS [9-4/.692; 1st Atlantic, 4th EC]

Game 18 Sun Nov 29 vs Pho [10-3/.769; 1st Pacific, 1st (tie) WC]

Game 19 Tue Dec 01 vs Was [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 12th (tie) EC]
Game 20 Wed Dec 02 @ ATL [11-3/.786; 1st Southeast, 1st EC]

which will take the team to the 1/4 pole of the regular season schedule.

This is the specific stretch of games that will reveal exactly what type of team the Raptors have, at the moment, and what can be expected from this group for the remainder of the season should there be no further major player personnel and/or coaching changes going forward.

While some voices in Raptorville believe the team’s performance during this stretch will turn out to be a source of tremendous optimism, and preceed a gradual upswing in the standings, as the season progresses …

45 Wins, and How the Raptors Will Get There [5-2, Nov 22 to Dec 02]

looking ahead, in September, from the vantage point of an astute NBA observer, this corner did not share that same perspective:

Raptors half-way through their first 20 games

According to his record, as a General Manager, Bryan Colangelo has a well-documented history of making an assessment of his team’s situation sometime in the first two weeks of December.

Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc … [Apr 11 2008]

If he likes what he has seen to that point, he continues moving forward, as is.

If, however, he does NOT like what he “thinks” he sees from his team … then, the fanbase best be prepared for a seismic shift, in terms of either player personnel and/or the head coach position.

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & coaches [Apr 30 2008]

Wait a second … what’s really going on here [Dec 04 2008]

What is really going on here: Part II [Dec 05 2008]

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & faces of the franchise [Mar 25 2009]

The next 2 weeks should prove to be a most interesting time in the 15 year history of the Toronto Raptors franchise. 

Related:

VC Declines Honour

Concerning the current state of the Raptors’ defense and their prospects for success, both, this season and down-the-road …

PART I … Please read carefully what was written in this space yesterday:

Placing blame on the wrong player[s] won’t solve the Raptors’ defensive problems

then, pay close attention to what you hear next, straight from a real live NBA assistant coach/scout in …

PART II … Please take the time to click on the following link:

Defense, Prince, Moustaches and More 

and listen to the podcast you will find there, involving Eric Smith, Jack Armstrong and [most importantly] Gordon Chiesa [former longtime NBA assistant coach/Utah Jazz; current NBA scout/Memphis Grizzlies], re: How Defense Actually Works in the NBA Game.

As they say, from time to time, in courtroom movies …

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, [in this case, at least] the Defense now rests.”

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There are a great many people operating in the on-line hoops community today who attempt to pass themselves off as a truly knowledgeable person when it comes to understanding properly how the game is played at the highest levels of competition.

Sadly, the simple fact is … not very many of them have the slightest clue about what’s actually involved with the workings of, either:

i. The X’s and O’s; or,

ii. The Jimmy’s and Joe’s;

that are on display each and every day in the National Basketball Association.

If you’re a basketball fan …

Spend your time wisely, listening to those few folks who do.

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PS. Which means, unfortunately, if you happen to visit fan-based web sites which use “approval ratings” that include different forms of “thumb-up/thumb-down” comment ratings, you should most likely pay heed to the ones which lead the way in terms of accumulating ”thumbs-downs”.

Reading this piece earlier today …

Jordan’s shot on Ehlo, 20 years later

the first thoughts which came to mind were these:

1. Has it really been 20 years already since the day in May when MJ broke the hearts of Craig Ehlo and Cavaliers fans everywhere?

2. Jeez-Louise … Looking at these images, we were all soooo much younger then.

3. re: “Today marks the 20th anniversary of the most important basket — and arguably the most exciting and dramatic one, too — of Jordan’s career.” - Dave Brown

This was not THE most important basket of Michael Jordan’s career.

The first step to the 6 NBA titles eventually won by the Chicago Bulls was taken in 1982, at the Superdome, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the direction of Dean Smith.

Truth be told … in both instances … yours truly, although a “fan” of all 4 of those teams, was actually cheering for the vanquished rather than the victor.