khandor’s sports blog

Countless numbers of small decisions made each and every day of a coach’s tenure on a job eventually add up to what will inevitably become The Key Points Of Emphasis for that specific program.

In the case of D-Casey and the Toronto Raptors:

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Calderon has edge in [non-]battle of the point guards

The most significant aspect of Casey’s defensive system is that it could allow someone like Calderon to seemingly improve at that end of the court. The coach has said all along that he will devise a scheme that plays to the strengths of his players and one that will allow more help than needed.

The Raptors will run a more traditional defence — packing the paint, offering some help on screen-and-roll situations, taking away straight-line drives that the team gave up all too often last year playing a more spread out style — that the coach said this week would overcome some of the individual physical limitations of his players.

“It’s packing the paint pretty much and . . . around the league, most teams do that so it’s not too new for me,” said Bayless.

It’s on offence where the 6-3 Bayless has to show the most improvement. The coaching staff want better recognition of options off the screen-and-roll, which is the bread-and-butter play of practically every team.

“His biggest challenge is handling the pick-and-roll situation, seeing his teammates, but he’s done an excellent job in practice so far,” said Casey.

“That’s what the game really comes down to in crunch time is pick-and-roll situations. Either running it or defending it are the two toughest things in the NBA right now.”

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So far, so good … when it comes to evaluating accurately who the better basketball player actually is, between his 2 main options at the Point Guard position, in terms of Individual and Team Offense, Defense and Rebounding.

For the benefit of Raptors fans …

who can’t seem to get enough of Jonas Valanciunas [i.e. Selection No. 5, 2011 NBA Draft].

BTW … The quality of these 2 youtube videos is absolutely terrific!

At the end of the 2008-2009 regular season, the main pieces for the Raptors and the Bulls, respectively, looked like this:

Toronto at Chicago [April 15, 2009]

When you then look at the main pieces for these same two teams when they played each other at the end of the 2009-2010 regular season, what you see is the following:

Chicago at Toronto [April 11, 2010]

When you then look at the main pieces for these same two teams when they played each other at the end of the just completed regular season, what you see is the following:

Toronto at Chicago [April 2, 2011]

Key differences and similarities?

1. Lead Executives, at the time:

2008-2009
CHICAGO, John Paxson
TORONTO, Bryan Colangelo and Maurizio Gherardini

2009-2010
CHICAGO, John Paxson and Gar Forman
TORONTO, Bryan Colangelo and Maurizio Gherardini

2010-2011
CHICAGO, John Paxson and Gar Forman
TORONTO, Bryan Colangelo and Maurizio Gherardini

2. Head Coaches, at the time:

2008-2009
CHICAGO, Vinnie Del Negro
TORONTO, Jay Triano

2009-2010
CHICAGO, Vinnie Del Negro
TORONTO, Jay Triano

2010-2011
CHICAGO, Tom Thibodeau
TORONTO, Jay Triano

3. Key Players, at the time:

2008-2009
CHICAGO
Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng [DNP-injury], Ben Gordon, John Salmons, Tyrus Thomas, Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller and Tim Thomas

TORONTO
Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani [DNP-injury]

2009-2010
CHICAGO
Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller

TORONTO
Chris Bosh [DNP-injury], Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Hedo Turkoglu, Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, DeMar DeRozan and Reggie Evans

2010-2011
CHICAGO
Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Carlos Boozer, CJ Watson, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas, Omir Asik and Rasual Butler

TORONTO
Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, Jerryd Bayless, James Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, Sonny Weems, Linas Kleiza and Reggie Evans

4. Won-Loss Records, at the time

2008-2009
CHICAGO, 41-41
TORONTO, 33-49

2009-2010
CHICAGO, 39-41 [similar]
TORONTO, 38-42 [slightly better]

2010-2011
CHICAGO, 56-20 [significantly better]
TORONTO, 20-55 [significantly worse]

Since their introduction to the NBA, 16 years ago, what the Toronto Raptors have displayed is: [1] A remarkable inability to hold onto their “best” players from previous seasons who have solid upside and were actually selected by the team in the annual Draft; and, [2] A disturbing penchant for selecting the “wrong” players in the annual Draft who have limited upside and then remain fixtures with the team for far too many years without becoming very productive overall … unlike the Chicago Bulls.

Until the Raptors properly address the deficiencies which exist for their franchise at the Executive level, the Head Coach level, and the Marquee Player level, what position they select in any given NBA Draft Lottery is quite immaterial … if the long term goal is eventually being able to win a League Championship.

Orlando Magic 98
TORONTO RAPTORS 102
Complete Game Summary

From a Raptors’ perspective …

What you should be able to take away from yesterday’s home-court victory:

- Toronto was more efficient than usual

On Defense
Orlando
Pts/98; Poss/95 [i.e. FGA/78, TO/8, and FFTA/12]; Pts/Poss = 1.032

On Offense
TORONTO
Pts/102; Poss/98 [i.e. FGA/79, TO/10 and FFTA/9]; Pts/Poss = 1.041  

Toronto’s PSPP-Diff [i.e. Points Scored Per Possession Differential]

To-date: -0.063 [i.e. Off. = 0.923; Def. = 0.986]
Yesterday: +0.009 [i.e. Off. = 1.041 (+0.118); Def. = 1.032 (-0.046)] 

In Rebounding
Orl: O-Reb/7, D-Reb/23 and T-Reb/30
TOR: O-Reb/15, D-Reb/33 and T-Reb/48

- Toronto played without Andrea Bargnani [C, Starter] … whose production was MORE THAN compensated for, collectively, by the work of Ed Davis [i.e. as the Starter], Reggie Evans [i.e. as the primary Back-up] and Joey Dorsey [i.e. as the secondary Back-up]

- Toronto played without Jose Calderon [PG, Starter] … whose production was equalized by Jerryd Bayless, as a capable temporary replacement in this role

- Toronto played without Jerry Bayless [PG, Back-up] … whose production was MORE THAN compensated for, individually, by the work of Leandro Barbosa who is a “best fit”, in the NBA, as a primary ‘change-of-pace’ Back-up PG, not a Back-up Combo Guard off the bench

- Orlando played without JJ Redick [OG], Gilbert Arenas [PG] and Chris Duhon [PG] … which meant they had NO legitimate Back-up PG in their line-up last night and were forced to use a combination of Richardson/Q  [+6] and Richardson/J [-19] in this crucial role, since they only used 8 players [i.e. including Allen/M and Anderson/R, as their 2 Bigs off the bench]

- Toronto is a favourite destination for visiting NBA players

- Toronto competed more aggressively throughout the game, and with an elevated level of Collective Determination because they did NOT have to “carry” a relatively weak Team Defender/Rebounder, who usually logs 35+ minutes at the crucial Center position

- Toronto marginally decreased its likelihood of earning as high a selection as possible in the 2011 NBA Drafft Lottery, by winning rather than losing this game … which is a sacrifice that should be MORE THAN compensated for, if the Raptors can learn the difficult lessons they NEED to learn from playing without the former No. 1 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery and develop a Team Culture which is based on Hard Work, Defense, Rebounding and Shared Team Offense

If/when Bryan Colangelo [President/GM] realizes that the following regular rotation:

STARTERS
PG, Jose Calderon [who is more efficient, on Offense, than Jerryd Bayless]
OG, DeMar DeRozan
SF, James Johnson
PF, Amir Johnson
PF, Ed Davis

KEY SUBS
PG, Leandro Barbosa [who is a very good back-up at this position]
OG, Sonny Weems [who is a solid back-up]
SF, Linas Kleiza [who is a solid back-up]
PF, Reggie Evans [who is a solid back-up]
C, Whomever is obtained in a trade for Andrea Bargnani [or Alexis Ajinca]

RESERVES/EXTRAS/OUTS
PG, Veteran UFA [i.e. signed to a minimum contract this summer]
SF, Julian Wright [who is an easy cut to make this summer, if necessary]
PF/C, Joey Dorsey [who is an easy cut to make this summer, if necessary]
C, Solomon Alabi [who is an easy cut to make this summer, if necessary]
C, Alexis Ajinca [or whomever is obtained in a trade for Andrea Bargnani]

ADDITIONAL ASSETS
- Whomever is obtained in a trade for Jerryd Bayless [PG/OG, who is highly marketable this summer]
- 2011 NBA Draft Lottery Selection

is the best possible scenario for the Raptors, going forward from this point, then this franchise will at long last be heading in a right direction.

In the after-glow of last night’s home-court victory against the New Orleans Hornets … and, as the Toronto Raptors head to London, England, to play in the NBA’s first set of regular season games held beyond the borders of continental North America …

It is worthwhile taking note of who, exactly, has been the Toronto Raptors’ BEST PLAYER, thus far, this season.

In sharp contrast to what you might have been told by various voices surrounding the team, and/or eminating from different sources across the internet, the correct answer to this question is not:

i. Andrea Bargnani/C, the team’s leading scorer by a wide margin;

or,

ii. Amir Johnson/PF, the team’s leading rebounder by a wide margin;

or,

iii. DeMar DeRozan/OG-SF, the team’s most athletic player and two-time participant in the NBA’s All-Star Weekend festivities.

To this point, the Raptors’ BEST PLAYER has actually been none other than … JOSE MANUEL CALDERON/PG:

… whose on-court performance, since first coming to the NBA for the 2005-2006 season, ranks him as the 2nd best Raptors’ player of the last 6 years, behind only Chris Bosh/C-PF.

Kudos to Toronto’s Numero Ocho! 

… for piecing together another solid body of work, even amongst the ruins of a 17-win campaign, after almost being traded to the Charlotte Bobcats during the off season.  

Led by Jose Calderon … and much better Pick and Roll/Pop defense from their collection of Bigs … the Toronto Raptors played a very solid game last night against the visiting New Orleans Hornets.

If you take a close look at:

PART I

The complete Box Score, and pay particular attention to the category of kPER, which is an exclusive creation of yours truly:

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Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: None – TEAMS (def3sec): TORONTO (1), NEWORLEANS (2) – COACHES: None
Officials: Scott Wall , John Goble , Marc Davis
Attendance: 14,704
Time of Game: 02:08

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you should be able to see clearly which specific players were most responsible for the 6-point margin of victory by the Raptors;

PART II

The Game Flow Chart

You should also be able to see clearly that, as long as the Raptors did not use specific players together – i.e. at the PG, OG and SF positions – who are ill-suited to play with one another:

they were actually a far superior team to the Hornets last night;

and,

PART III

Jay Triano’s observations at his post-game press conference

You should be able to see clearly just how important improved Pick and Roll/Pop defense from the team’s Bigs against:

i. The Picker;
ii. The original ball-handler; and,
iii. The other non-Picking Big [in various rotation situations];

actually is to the Raptors’ overall defensive efficiency.

If/when the Raptors play Team Basketball that looks LIKE THAT, then … even with their current less than stellar roster … they are certainly capable of finishing in the middle section of the league standings.

Last night’s 9th consecutive loss for the Raptors means that Toronto has now plummeted to the 4th worst W-L record in the NBA:

30 Cleveland Cavaliers, 8-37/.178
29 Minnesota Timberwolves, 10-35/.222
28 Sacramento Kings, 10-33/.233 
27 Toronto Raptors, 13-33/.283
26 Washington Wizards, 13-31/.295

and, once again, has a legitimate chance to secure a Top 3 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery.

If the Raptors management group actually has the necessary level of Basketball Acumen to take full advantage of the team’s recent spate of injuries there is no legitimate reason Toronto cannot make a gradual rise in the standings over the course of the next few seasons and become firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

FRANCHISE STRENGTHS

1. Top 3 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery [?]
2. No. 1 Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. Andrea Bargnani, C
3. No. 9 Selection in the 2009 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. DeMar DeRozan, OG
4. No. 13 Selection in the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. Ed Davis, PF
5. $10.8 M Traded Player Exception [TPE], obtained in exchange for Chris Bosh
6. Expiring contract of Reggie Evans [$5.1 M]
7. Expiring contract of Leandro Barbosa [$7.1 M]
8. Starting calibre PG, i.e. Jose Calderon [$9.0 M, plus 2 more years]
9. Rotation calibre PF, i.e. Amir Johnson [$5.0 M, plus 4 more years]
10. Rotation calibre SF, i.e. Linas Kleiza [$5.0 M, plus 2 more years]
11. Rotation calibre PG/OG, i.e. Jerryd Bayless [$2.3 M, plus 1 more year]  
12. Salary Cap space … if the team chooses not to re-sign Sonny Weems [$0.9 M, 1 yr], Joey Dorsey [$0.9 M, 1 yr], Alexis Ajinca [$1.5 M, 1 yr] and Julian Wright [$2.9 M, 1 yr] after this season
13. World-class city with the 3rd largest market in North America
14. 10th most valuable franchise in the NBA
15. Rabid, loyal fan base

FRANCHISE WEAKNESSES

1. The absence of a deep pocketed ownership group that SHOULD BE prepared to EXCEED the Salary Cap and the Luxury Tax Threshold on an ANNUAL BASIS.

2. The absence of a highly respected General Manager with first-hand experience in the construction/operation of a championship-winning organization.

3. The absence of a highly respected Head Coach with first-hand experience in the construction/operation of a championship-winning organization.

4. An organizational culture which has failed to prioritize the winning of the League Championship as The Standard for Team Success.

5. An organizational culture which has failed to prioritize Team Defense, Team Rebounding and Team Offense as the THREE MAIN COMPONENTS required for Team Success.

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The fact is …

In the 16 year history of the Raptors franchise, there have already been 3 prior occasions when the team was well-positioned to begin a gradual climb towards the top of the Eastern Conference:

First, when Toronto used the No. 4 Selection in the 1998 NBA Draft to pick Antawn Jamison/PF and then immediately traded him to obtain Vince Carter/SF-OG [No. 5 Selection, Golden State Warriors];

1998-1999, 23 wins
1999-2000, 45 wins [up ... but, failed to retain the services of Tracy McGrady]
2000-2001, 47 wins [up]
2001-2002, 42 wins [down]
2002-2003, 24 wins [down]

Second, when Toronto used the No. 4 Selection in the 2003 NBA Draft to pick Chris Bosh/C-PF;

2003-2004, 33 wins [up]
2004-2005, 33 wins [same ... but, traded Vince Carter]
2005-2006, 27 wins [down]

Third, when Toronto used the No. 1 Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft to pick Andrea Bargnani/C;

2006-2007, 47 wins [up]
2007-2008, 41 wins [down]
2008-2009, 33 wins [down]
2009-2010, 40 wins [up ... but, failed to retain the services of Chris Bosh]
2010-2011, 13 wins so far [down?]

and, in each instance, the opportunity has been wasted by the relatively poor work of their:

i. Ownership Group, whose chief responsibility is to hire the right GM and then stay out of his way; 

ii. General Manager[s], whose chief responsibilities are to: A. Hire the right Head Coach & Staff, and B. Obtain the right mix of players, and then stay out of their way; 

iii. Head Coach[es] and staff[s], whose chief responsibilities are to: A. Fully develop the players on their roster into a highly effective and cohesive group, and B. Win as many games and playoff series as possible, on an annual basis;

with the prime directive being, “The Winning of the League Championship.”  

Hopefully, this time around …

Kyrie Irving/PG, Duke University
Harrison Barnes/SF, University of North Carolina
Jan Veseley/SF, Partizan-Belgrade

the Raptors’ management group doesn’t screw it up, again.   

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.

———————————–

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! 

Toronto Raptors 120
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 105
Complete Game Info

———————————————–

SUBSTITUTION CHART

———————————————–

From the Raptors’ perspective …

How the good and bad played out, in last night’s game:

As was mentioned here yesterday …

If John Kuester is not going to settle on a specific rotation for the Pistons this year, then, Detroit will most likely drop to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

However, it would be a serious mistake in Basketball Judgment for anyone to think that the chief reason for this type of precipitous decline in the fortunes of this franchise is due to the overall poor quality of the players on their present roster.

Detroit Pistons [10-19] 115
TORONTO RAPTORS [10-19] 93
Complete Game Info

Despite the fact that the Raptors went into last night’s game with a depleted line-up …

Jerryd Bayless [Out - illness]
Sonny Weems [Out - injured]
Peja Stojakovic [Out - injured]
Reggie Evans [Out - injured]

and were forced to use already-injured starters Jose Calderon [PG] and Andrea Bargnani [C] for copious amounts of minutes – even though they were both playing poorly - and were forced to play the final 26:43 without the services of their starting PF, Amir Johnson [who sufferred a re-occurrence of his on-going trouble with back spasms] …

The specific rotation which the Pistons used in this game is but one example of what can happen when a team’s players have a solid understanding of their respective individual roles, and their head coach uses them in combinations that actually make a good deal of sense from an Individual Match-up perspective.

If you take a look at the “Substitution Chart” from last night’s game:

and the Play-By-Play for the 2nd half of the 2nd quarter: