khandor’s sports blog

If the Raptors actual intent this season is to try to win as many games as possible, then, Dwane Casey needs to make an adjustment in his current starting line-up.

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Casey considers changes

Following Sunday’s loss in Los Angeles, a game that was once again dominated and all but determined by a listless first-quarter Raptors performance, Casey is no longer content to stay with the status quo. At the very least he’s seriously considering changing a few pieces.

It’s not so much the mounting losses, although that’s clearly part of it, but how the losses are coming.

For the first time this year on Sunday, Casey called out one of his players for a lack of effort, clearly identifying Amir Johnson in the process.

Casey went to great lengths on Sunday to emphasize that he wasn’t placing blame on any one player. In fairness the questions Sunday left him little choice but to address the fact that Johnson played only seven minutes.

He had to explain why he wasn’t out there and the truth was Aaron Gray was running hard and ensuring DeAndre Jordan didn’t add to the number of crowd inciting lob-finishing dunks he was throwing down much to the appreciation of the Staples Center crowd.

Monday in Phoenix, though, Casey pointedly said that were any changes coming, it wasn’t going to be done to single out any individual’s performance or lack thereof.

“We still have a couple of positions we’re looking at,” Casey said. “Right now, we’re going to sleep on it again tonight. Everything we’re aiming to do is nothing that’s an indictment of any one player, it’s more of us having balance, finding the right combination to get off to quick starts and a balanced game.

“We’ve got too many ebbs and flows with the game as far as our points production, our defensive focus and the whole nine yards. That’s what we’re trying for more than: ‘Hey, it’s this one guy’ (that’s the reason) we’re not winning.”

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If, however, the Raptors actual intent this season is to try to lose as many games as possible – so that they can obtain as high a pick as possible in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery … which is precisely what it SHOULD be – then, Dwane Casey needs to keep using DeMar DeRozan [OG] exactly how he has been used in Toronto’s line-up for all 17 games thus far this year.

The Toronto Raptors lost a hard fought game to the visiting Atlanta Hawks last night:

Atlanta Hawks 104
TORONTO RAPTORS 101
Complete Game Info

but, instead of whining about the discrepancy in fouls called against the Raptors by a fairly veteran crew of officials … i.e. Bill Spooner, Rodney Mott and Haywoode Workman … which is really as good as it gets for a Wednesday night in the NBA with 11 games on the slate, what the Raptors and their rabid fanbase should actually be moaning about today is the poor defensive execution displayed by their own team on the following possession which allowed the Hawks to take the lead for good, on a simple “catch-and-shoot-3PT-shot” by notorious Raptors killer, Mike Bibby, with Atlanta down 2 points and 10.3 secs left in the 4th quarter:  

Q1. Which of the following individuals for the Raptors was at fault for failing to carry out his assignment properly on this specific defensive sequence?

i. Jose Calderon,
ii. Amir Johnson,
iii. DeMar DeRozan,
iv. Andrea Bargnani,
v. Leandro Barbosa,
vi. Jay Triano?  

A1. If you’ve been a regular visitor to this blog over the last several years, then, you should already be able to answer this question correctly for yourself.

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When a team is currently ranked:

A. 26th in [5th last] Points Allowed [i.e. 105.1], and

B. 30th [last] in Defensive Field Goal % [i.e. 49.2],

that team’s supporters need to understand that the primary reason they lost a very winnable game last night has nothing to do with the poor quality of officiating their team received but the poor quality of defensive execution by specific players and coaches when the outcome of the game was actually on the line.

FWIW, here’s the correct answer to the question posed above:

i. Demar DeRozan … did his job properly.
ii. Amir Johnson … did his job properly.
iii. Andrea Bargnani … failed to do his job properly.
iv. Leandro Barbosa … failed to do his job properly.
v. Jose Calderon … failed to do his job properly.
vi. Jay Triano … failed to do his job properly.  

SPECIFIC RATIONALE

re: Bargnani [i.e. near screener's defender]
The primary responsibilities of the screen defender – in the double screen action – who is closest to the inbounds passer is to:

- see the 2 cuts happening from the player located above/below the double screen [i.e. Mike Bibby]

and,

- jump out on the near/high side of the double screen to deter and/or intercept/deflect a direct pass to the shooter popping out at the top of the key

re: Barbosa [i.e. inbounds passer's defender]
The primary responsibilities of the inbounds passer’s defender is to:

- ”jam the passer” so that he is not able to complete a direct pass to a teammate cutting to the top of the key with the benefit of a single, double, or staggered set of screens

re: Calderon [i.e. weak side shooter's defender]
The primary responsibilities of the defender who is checking the player located above/below the double screen is to:

- “stay below” and towards the “basket side” of his own check

- “switch” vs any little-on-little cross screen action that ahppens below the double screen

- “chase” the shooter who comes out towards his side of the floor “around” the double screen action at the top of the key … and into the area of screen defender who is nearest the inbounds passer … by “trailing” on the hip of the shooter rather than attempting to fight “through” the middle of the 2 screeners

re: Triano
The primary responsibilities of the head coach whose team is leading by 2 points with only 10.3 secs left in the 4th quarter and the opponent with the ball in a sideline out-of-bounds situation, when coming from a called time-out is, to:

- Ensure that his players fully understand what they MUST DO in order to NOT GIVE UP an open 3PT-shot … either, from the top of the key, or the near wing/corner … which can lose them the game, outright, as opposed to surrendering a 2PT-shot which can only tie the score 

re: Amir Johnson [i.e. far screener's defender]
The primary responsibilities of the screen defender – in the double screen action – who is furthest from the inbounds passer is to:

- stay below the double screen, in order to cover whichever screener might step towards the basket in response to the actions of the near screen defender and the weak side shooter’s defender 

re: DeMar DeRozan [i.e. ball side shooter's defender]
The primary responsibilities of the defender who is checking the shooter located in the ball side low post is to:

- “front” vs this shooter so that he does not receive a direct entry pass

- “switch” vs any little-on-little cross screen action which occurs below the below screen

- “chase” vs any cut made by his individual check which does not involve the use of a single, double or staggered set of screens

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Kudos to the Hawks’ Larry Drew, Jamal Crawford, Al Horford, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby for doing each of their jobs properly and executing this basic offensive play! 

     vs   

One has a slew of NBA Championships to his credit, thus far.

The other, to this point, has none.

One has been a highly-rated college player, a solid NBA role player, a lauded head coach, a reknowned motivational speaker/author and ‘Leadership Expert’, and is now a well-regarded Team President.

The other is a 2-time recipient of the NBA’s EOTY Award.

One represents an “individual” principal owner with exceptionally deep pockets who has already put together 1 world championship team and is willing to pay the asking price to become a legitimate contender, once again.

The other represents an ownership “group” that … despite a diverse set of financial holdings … has as its primary objective the making of a healthy profit for its corporate stakeholders.

One speaks definitively, peppering his everyday language with words and phrases like these:

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Riley’s master free agent plan started years ago

“I think it will be equivalent to a space shuttle launch,” Riley said back in May, shortly after the season ended and the Heat summer of 2010 began. “Everybody who’s covering the day it’s going to get launched, you never know [how] it is until they hit the button. When they hit the button, a lot of things explode down underneath to lift the rocket up.”“We have been in this for two years.”

“I know what I’m going to do.”

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The other … although equally polished, in his own way, from a media-savvy perspective … is more prone to use words and phrases like these:

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Bosh likely to leave Colangelo says

“We will get to a point where there’s a conclusion to this one way or the other. It’s the perfect storm for Chris Bosh to leave and unfortunately we’re possibly going to be on the short end of that, but we will evolve. We will have to evolve and move forward.”

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The question is …

Q1. If you were to put yourself in the shoes of a relatively youngish, talented, marquee player in the NBA, for which of these two General Managers and, therefore, their respective owners and organizations, would you choose to work during the next crucial middle – i.e. maximum performance – phase of your professional career, as a world-class athlete?

A1. If your No. 1 priority, as a professional athlete, truly is having the opportunity to win-it-all … then, it isn’t really even a contentious debate.

In general, Kevin Arnovitz does a solid job breaking down the different “actions” involved in a NBA game.

In this instance, however, he has incorrectly pointed an accusing finger in the direction of Rashard Lewis for Orlando’s apparent failure to box out Josh Smith on the last second follow-up dunk which was the difference in last night’s victory for Atlanta.

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The Incredible Finish in Atlanta

Just over a minute later, Vince Carter deadens the crowd when he nails an off-balanced, contested bomb from beyond the arc.

Game tied.

The Hawks must race the ball up the length of the court with no timeouts and 9.9 seconds left on the clock: 

Watch the play again. How does Josh Smith get free for the follow?

Ask Rashard Lewis.

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If you take a closer look at what transpired during this sequence, you should be able to see is that: 

the Orlando player who was most responsible for allowing Josh Smith to go unchecked during the rebounding phase of this defensive possession was actually Dwight Howard.

i.e. When Joe Johnson stopped his drive towards the basket and, instead, pulled up for his running jump-shot, from the Left Short Corner, it was Dwight Howard’s responsibility to:

I. Recover back to the weak side of the floor [i.e. where the majority of rebounds are directed];

and,

II. Box out, either:

A. Josh Smith [which would have alllowed Rashard Lewis to concentrate on boxing out Mario West, exclusively];

or,

B. Mario West [which would have allowed Rashard Lewis to concentrate on boxing out Josh Smith, exclusively];

… instead of trying, in vein, to box out both Josh Smith and Mario West.

Unfortunately for Orlando, Dwight Howard did neither of these 2 things.

Holding specific basketball players accountable for their individual failures at the defensive end of the floor, or in terms of executing their defensive rebounding assignments properly, can be tricky business, even for the very best of bloggers.

Following last night’s deflating home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the conference standings in the East look like this:

Prior to the 2009 NBA Draft, however, these were some of the players who were recommended in this space for the Toronto Raptors:

Terrence Williams [OG-SF, New Jersey, 1st Rd]
Earl Clark [SF-PF, Phoenix, 1st Rd]
Derrick Brown [SF-PF, Charlotte, 2nd Rd]
Taj Gibson [PF, Chicago, 1st Rd]
Dante Cunningham [PF, Portland, 2nd Rd]
Marcus Thornton [OG, New Orleans, via Miami, 2nd Rd]
Nando De Colo [OG-SF, San Antonio, 2nd Rd]

Prior to the 4-team trade that involved the Raptors, Magic, Mavericks and Grizzlies, it was also suggested here that Toronto should:

If the Raptors would have followed those recommendations, instead of:

culminating with a roster that looks like the middle column in the following chart:

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Yours truly thinks they would.

It’s by developing and then implementing a sound Basketball Philosophy … which emphasizes the importance of [I] Team Defense, [II] Rebounding, and [III] Shared Team Offense, in this order … maintaining general roster stability, from one season to the next, while acquiring Quality Depth, and obtaining the services of an experienced and successful NBA head coach, that the Raptors would be able to fundamentally alter the direction of their franchise and construct the type of championship-calibre organization which UFA’s like Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James, etc., would willingly CHOOSE to play for, if they have their druthers, either, this coming off season or further down-the-road.

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 20 – at Atlanta [Wed Dec 02]

The Hawks are going to be a solid team in the EC this season. Adding a good PG from the 2009 NBA Draft [i.e. Jeff Teague], a multi-purpose Guard [i.e. Jamal Crawford] and a serviceable veteran Big [i.e. Joe Smith] improves their squad significantly; as does 1 more year of maturation with their core group [i.e. Joe Johnson, 28; Al Horford, 23; Josh Smith, 23; and, Marvin Williams, 23] together. The individual match-up advantages favour Atlanta … which will probably mean another road loss for the Raptors, in this back-2-back.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 7-13

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PS. This marks the end of the “early season” phase for the Raptors.

Related:

Toronto Raptors Season Preview: Game 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

* Tyler Hansbrough makes his summer league debut. Those who think that Larry Bird made a mistake with the No. 13 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft are going to be in for a surprise this season.

* Colangelo works fast and hard to get Turkoglu. Hedo is many things but a player who “creates” shots working off the dribble he is not. Expect THAT from him, without the benefit of a pick and you’ll be in for disappointment Raptors fans.

* What’s next? As the old adage goes: “Some of the best deals a team ever makes are the ones it doesn’t make, in the first place.” Solace for Blazers fans in the aftermath of winning losing the Hedo Turkoglu Sweepstakes.

* Buyer Beware! Things are not always as they first appear to be, when it comes to advantageous signings during the NBA’s free agency period.  

* Nick Collison says Thunder is ready for the next step. Sleep on Oklahoma City this coming season at your own peril.

When Raptors fans look at the way their team is perfoming during the final 20 games of their disappointing season …

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* – >.500 Team

winning only 7 of the 15 games [.467] they’ve played thus far.

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they need to make an accurate appraisal of the players who will form the nucleus of this team going forward from here:

Unlike many others in Raptorville, this corner does not believe that the main problems this team has experienced this season have been rooted in the assortment of injuries they’ve sustained and/or the overall poor performances of Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon, who are their best players by a wide margin.

Until Bryan Colangelo significantly upgrades the players who are currently slotted into the #3-15 spots on the Raptors’ roster:

i.e. Shawn Marion/#3, Andrea Bargnani/#4, Anthony Parker/#5, Joey Graham/#6, Kris Humphries/#7, Jason Kapono/#8, Roko Ukic/#9, Pops Mensah-Bonsu/#10, Quincy Douby/#11, Jake Voskuhl/#12, Patrick O’Brant/#13 and Nathan Jawai/#14

there is little chance this team will make serious headway in the Eastern Conference next season. 

Using the 4th place Atlanta Hawks, as one comparative example:

1. While Chris Bosh [C] can hold his own against other up-and-coming young players like Al Horford [C] or Josh Smith [PF], Andrea Bargnani [C] cannot; and, is simply out-classed by either of these two players.

2. While Jose Calderon [PG] can hold his own against a solid veteran like Mike Bibby [PG], Shawn Marion [SF] cannot stay with a multi-dimensional, dynamic Wing player like Joe Johnson [SF/OG/PG].

3. While Joey Graham has made a significant jump this season … i.e. from a seldom-used after-thought to a serviceable Wing player … he is simply not as good as Maurice Evans [OG/SF], nor as consistent.

4. While Jason Kapono is one of the best stand-still “catch & shoot” artists in the NBA, he is simply not as versatile a Back-up Guard/Forward as a Flip Murray, who can capably fill in for the Hawks, as an under-sized OG and an emergency PG.

5. While Kris Humphries is a solid Back-up Big Man, he is simply not as good as Zaza Pachulia.

6. While Roko Ukic has the make-up of a solid Point Guard, in the NBA, he is not a superior player to Acie Law, at this position.

7. While Pops Mensah-Bonsu certainly brings some badly needed energy and NBA athleticism to the Raptors, he is simply not in the same class of serviceable Back-up Big Man as a versatile player like Solomon Jones [who was a DNP in last night's game but can capably fill-in for the Hawks at both C and PF].

Most of which was on full display in last night’s game.

FINAL SCORE: RAPTORS 110, Hawks 118
Complete Game Info

One of the funniest video clips yet produced on the internet …

Shame on anyone who suggests that the officials in this League actually call the game according to “The Rules”.

FINAL SCORE: Tor 84, ATL 87
Game Info; Box Score; Full Play-By-Play; Video Highlights

It is comical to read that many observers in Raptorville actually believe that Jamario Moon was the main reason the Raptors lost this game yesterday and that what Chris Bosh did at the 01:33 mark of the 4th quarter was, in fact, what his team needed from him, at that point, in this contest.

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Yours truly is appreciative of Chris Bosh, as the Captain of this team … but, in this specific instance, what he did at that moment in time was the exact opposite of what was needed by his teammates and specifically a player like Jamario Moon.

What exactly happened at the 01:33 mark of the final quarter?

Joe Johnson beat Jamario Moon off the bounce, from the top of the key [TOTK] for a driving layup, straight down the middle of the lane. On his made field goal attempt, however, Johnson was fouled by Moon. Chris Bosh came off his own check to provide late help at the rim for Moon. After the bodies unpiled off the ground, Bosh tore a strip off his teammate for his inability to prevent a direct drive to the basket by Johnson, putting the responsibility for this made basket by the Hawks best player squarely on the shoulders of his beaten Raptors’ teammate.

If you watch the videotape of Moon’s reaction to the calling out he received from Bosh you will see that he was completely stunned and upset to be singled out in this way, by his Captain, at this point in the game.

The score was Tor 84, ATL 83 … and Toronto then possession of the ball.

* Joey Graham subbed in for Roko Ukic, meaning that the Raptors best available 5-Man Unit of Parker/PG, Graham/W, Moon/W, Bargnani/B & Bosh/B were on the floor together for the final minute and half of the game.

Possession #1
Bosh set an Angle Pick for Parker [Left-TOTK]. Parker drove left [vs Flip Murray] and passed off to Graham [Left-Corner]. Graham drove the left baseline [vs Evans & Smith] and took a contested jumpshot which missed with 9 seconds remaining on the shot clock [01:18]. Smith collected the defensive rebound.

Possession A
Smith passed to Johnson in the Hawks’ back-court. Johnson dribbled into the front-court and tried to iso vs Parker [Left-Wing]. Bargnani provided backside help to deter Johnson’s drive. Johnson drove left regardless and was soft double-teamed by Parker & Bargnani. Johnson passed out of the double-team to Bibby [Left-TOTK]. Bibby shot-faked and was fouled by Moon. Bibby Made 2 FT’s … Tor 84, ATL 85 [00:54.4]. Raptors’ Time-Out [Full].

Possession #2
Kapono subbed in for Graham. Kapono inbounded the ball [Left-Sideline] and passed directly to Bosh [Left-TOTK/vs Josh Smith]. Bosh tried to swept right and drive by Smith into the lane. Smith deflected the ball off Bosh’s knee and it went to Johnson with 22 seconds on the shot clock. Turnover, Chris Bosh [00:52.7].

Possession B
Atlanta attacked in transition [Johnson vs Bargnani]. Johnson passed to Smith [Left-Wing, vs Parker]. Smith drove into the lane and passed to Maurice Evans [Left-Block]. Evans attempted a wild driving, twisting layup vs the 4 Raptors [i.e. Parker, Bosh, Bargnani & Moon] who were back standing under the basket, with 19 seconds remaining on the shot clock [00:45.2]. Bosh collected the defensive rebound.

Possession #3 
Bosh made an outlet pass to Parker. Parker attacked in transition [vs Flip Murray, Right-Elbow]. Evans recovered to Parker [Right-TOTK]. Parker passed to Moon [Right-Free Throw Line Extended/FTLX], who was unchecked in transition. Moon attempted a 3PT-shot with 20 seconds remaining on the shot clock [00:38.6], in a two for one situation, down by 1 point. Murray closed out vs Moon. Moon’s 3-ball missed. Johnson tipped the defensive rebound to Bibby. Raptors’ game announcers – Matt Devlin & Leo Rautins [TV] and Eric Smith & Paul Jones [Radio] – castigated Moon for shooting THAT shot at that point in the game.

Possession C
In the Hawks’ back-court, Bibby passed Murray & Murray passed to Johnson. Johnson [vs Moon] dribbled into the front-court. Johnson passed to Bibby [Left-Hash Mark/vs Parker]. Johnson [vs Moon] set a High Middle Pick for Bibby [vs Parker]. Parker & Moon Switched. Johnson iso’d vs Parker [Left-Elbow] and took a tough 18 foot pull-up jump shot that was heavily contested by both Parker & Moon [helping off Bibby/TOTK]. Johnson Made the jump shot with 2 seconds remaining on the shot clock [00:12.5]. Tor 84, ATL 87. Raptors’ Time-Out [20]. Toronto & Atlanta each with 1 Time-Out [20] left.

Possession #4
Kapono [Left-Sideline/vs Flip Murray] inbounded the ball to Parker [TOTK/vs Maurice Evans]. Kapono cut baseline off Staggered Lane Screens by Bosh [1st/vs Smith] and Bargnani [2nd/vs Johnson] and curled out to receive the pass [Right-FTLX] from Parker. Murray went Over the 1st Screen and Locked & Trailed on the 2nd Screen. Kapono caught the pass cleanly and elavated for his 3PT jump shot. Johnson [helping off Bargnani] rotated out to contest Kapono’s jump shot. Bargnani stepped to the Left-Corner. Kapono tried to pass in mid-air to Bargnani but the jump-pass was deflected by Johnson [00:08.0]. Murray bobbled the loose ball. Bargnani bobbled the loose ball. Kapono collected the loose ball and took a 3PT-shot [Right-Sideline/vs Murray] that missed [00.04.5]. Smith collected the defensive rebound [00:02.8].

Possession D
Smith passed ahead to Johnson in the Hawks front-court [00:00.0]. End of Game.

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As a Team Leader …

What Chris Bosh NEEDED to do instead, at that moment in time, with the game on the line, was encourage his teammates NOT admonish them.

See the Full Play-By-Play [above] to compare the way Bosh and Moon played from 05:00-01:33 of the 4th quarter.

Admonishing teammates with 01:33 remaining in a 1 point ball-game usually leads to further execution errors, by both parties, not less … which is precisely what happened in this instance.

Hopefully, as Chris Bosh continues to mature, in this regard … as a person, player and a Leader … he will better realize the error of his ways.