khandor’s sports blog

Raptors’ inconsistency a cause for concern
One telling play in Friday’s loss was a dunk by Boston’s Paul Pierce over Chris Bosh that ended with Pierce being hit with a taunting technical for flexing over the falling Raptor. That brought coach Jay Triano and his staff off the bench to scream at Pierce, but elicited no response from the other players.

“I was pretty focused on what was going on in front of me. I didn’t realize until I watched it on tape that we had backed off as much as we did,” Triano said. “I think if I was Chris I would confront my teammates.

“Any time one of your guys goes down – and you don’t have to go out there and start fighting – just go over and help your teammate and we didn’t even do that. He laid there on the floor without anybody going over to see how he was.”

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PART I

A Top Notch NBA head coach does NOT talk in this way, concerning what happens to one of HIS players in a game:

“I was pretty focused on what was going on in front of me. I didn’t realize … ”

A Top Notch NBA head coach is aware of EVERY SINGLE THING that happens on the floor, and on the bench, with regard to HIS team.

A Top Notch NBA head coach … misses NOTHING.

Ever.

Because he is just THAT aware of:

1. What’s happened in the game, to that point;

2. What’s happening in the game, at that exact moment; and,

3. What’s most likely ABOUT to happen in the game, in the immediate future.

This is one of the personal attributes which separates a Top Notch NBA head coach from everyone else. 

PART II

A Top Notch NBA head coach does NOT talk in this way, either:

A. To;

or,

B. About;

the players on HIS own team.

He does NOT use the phrase:

“I think if I was ____ ____, I would ________ __ _________.”

He does NOT talk in public … either to, or about, HIS players … in terms of hypothetical directives.

A Top Notch NBA head coach is, either:

A. Purposely obtuse/indirect; or,

B. Purposely acute/direct;

in his dealings with reporters, scribes, bloggers, etc., concerning goings-on with HIS players, in order to convey a highly specific message that either:

i. Relieves the pressure of a situation from the entire team; or,

ii. Narrows the focus to a certain thing/individual within the entire group.

Of all the goings-on which have occurred in Raptorville, to this point, this season … these specific words spoken by their head coach, Jay Triano, are the most disconcerting.   

FACTS FROM FRIDAY NIGHT’S INCIDENT VS BOSTON

1. The first Raptors’ coach to get up from his seat, in response to what was done to Chris Bosh [by Paul Pierce] … was ALEX ENGLISH.

2. The most demonstrative Raptors’ coach who actually went after the Celtics’ bench contingent [i.e. Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau, Rasheed Wallace, etc.], in response to what was done to Chris Bosh [by Paul Pierce] … was MARC IAVARONI.

The Raptors have assembled a team in the image of Bryan Colangelo … and, it’s going to be most interesting, indeed, to see where they’ll go from here. 

Toronto Raptors 103
BOSTON CELTICS 116
Fri Nov 27 2009 - Game Summary

Feschuk: Raptors bow down meekly to Celtics 103-116
[excerpt #1]
“There’s no other way to say it – we just got punked,” said Antoine Wright, Toronto’s veteran swingman, a rare voice of outrage on a ho-hum club.

“We’ve got guys standing over our best player, flexing, and it’s not something we can stand for. I was pretty frustrated sitting on the bench watching their whole team run out there on the floor and we only had our coaches up shouting and screaming at their players. I don’t like that.”

Said Bosh: “Yeah, I’d like to see the team more passionate. I look at their bench and they’re all up standing at half-court, and nobody from their team was down on the floor. I think we would react better to just be out there for one another and just stay together.”

Wright and Bosh were on something of an island, it seemed. Jay Triano, the Toronto coach, didn’t register a qualm with his team’s reaction to Pierce’s technical; he said he “liked the way we fought back after that” – although the Raptors, down 17 points at the time, never got the Boston advantage below nine points. Jarrett Jack, who bent down to check on Bosh, pointed out that the play was clean, and that the Raptors had come to Bosh’s aid when Bosh tangled with Dwight Howard in a game against the Magic earlier this season.

Nobody was suggesting the Raptors should have brawled. But there’s no denying that Pierce’s dunk-and-pose was symbolic of Boston’s second-half manhandling of the soft visitors.

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When you look at the Full Play-By-Play of the 3rd Quarter … from the 8:00 mark until the end of the stanza … you should be able to see that Antoine Wright was on the court when this game changed for the worst, from the Raptors’ perspective, and did nothing to stem the tide with his own play.

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Q1. How does a team which is soft Defensively, and in terms of Rebounding, increase its overall Toughness Quotient?

A1. Not by adding 9 new players to its roster that play the game like this:

with an existing group that looks like this:

High end teams in the NBA have a player roster which is filled with QUALITY DEPTH and several individuals that come ready-made with PHYSICAL TOUGHNESS.

In the immediate aftermath of Paul Pierce’s drive and dunk, in which he planted his knee directly into Chris Bosh’s groin area … it’s NO COINCIDENCE that the first two members of the Raptors’ contingent to forcibly express their displeasure were:

#1. Alex English [former NBA player, Hall of Fame Inductee]; and,

#2. Marc Iavaroni [former NBA player, 1981 World Champion, Philadelphia 76ers].

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[excerpt #2]
Wright, speaking to reporters before the game, criticized unnamed teammates for lax preparation in the wake of Wednesday’s 35-point loss in Charlotte: “You’ve got guys in here eating popcorn, joking around before the game. And we go out there and lose by 40. It’s a direct result of what’s going on before the game. Guys not coming in with the right mind frame.”

Those words appeared to resonate. Said Sonny Weems, the 23-year-old wing: “We do fool around a lot. And it tends to carry over into the game, and that’s something that needs to change.”

You’ll excuse Bosh, the seventh-year Raptor who has heard similar vows of vigilance before, if he exhaled through the post-game questions.

Said Wright: “We’ve got a lot of good players on this team but we’re going to have to come together or teams are just going to continue to run us over like this.”

Sighed Bosh: “I’m tired of talking about toughness. We talk about it too much. We talk about everything too much. We’ve got to stop talking about it and just do it.”

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Until the current Raptors’ Management Team understands the TRUE VALUE of Defense, Rebounding and PHYSICAL TOUGHNESS … for the High End teams in the NBA … Toronto will continue to be an also-ran.

Memo to Bryan Colangelo.

The time for Tough[ness] Talk has long since passed … if you want to re-sign Chris Bosh this summer and construct a championship calibre organization for the Toronto Raptors.

The ball is in YOUR court, once again.

The pertinent facts from this game?

1. The Raptors used their main rotation players for more minutes than the Celtics [Box Score].

2. The 3rd Quarter Play-By-Play.

3. Given the state of his physical condition at this stage of his recovery from off-season surgery on his right knee, expect to see Kevin Garnett check Andrea Bargnani this season … with Kendrick Perkins checking CB4 … when these teams face one another.

4. KPM’s for this game:

5. When they kick it into gear, the Celtics’ Rebounding [44-32] and Defensive/Offensive Efficiency [BOS: 0.99, 106 pts on 107 possessions; 0.99/Tor: 0.91, 90 pts on 99 possessions] numbers are superior to the Raptors. 

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

Game 17 – at Boston [Fri Nov 27]

When healthy, this group of Celtics is too much for the Raptors to handle, with the only match-up advantage, in Toronto’s favour, deep on the bench.

Since the baseline 2005-2006 season …

these two teams have, in fact, gone in opposite directions in the Atlantic Division, with the Celtics re-asserting themselves as the dominant organization in the EC, on the whole, and the Raptors sinking back towards the bottom of the standings.

In sharp contrast to a large percentage of other Raptors fans, unfortunately, yours truly does not see this situation changing in the immediate future, given the different ways in which these two organizations operate.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 6-11

The 5 teams in the Atlantic Division finished in the following order last season:

1. Boston Celtics, 62-20/.756, 2nd East, Lost 2nd Round 
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 41-41/.500, 6th East, Lost 1st Round  
3. New Jersey Nets, 34-48/.415, 3rd East, Missed Playoffs
4. Toronto Raptors, 33-49/.402, 13th East, Missed Playoffs
5. New York Knicks, 32-50/.390, 14th East, Missed Playoffs

At this point in the off season, the teams have made the following player personnel changes:

BOSTON CELTICS
Significant Losses
1. Leon Powe [PF], UFA
2. Mikki Moore [PF-C], UFA
3. Stephon Marbury [PG]
4. Gabe Pruitt [PG-OG]

Significant Adds
1. Lester Hudson/2nd Round Draft Pick [No. 58, overall]
2. Rasheed Wallace, UFA
3. Sheldon Williams, UFA
4. Marquis Daniels, UFA

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Significant Losses
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. Andre Miller [PG], UFA
3. Theo Ratliff [PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Elton Brand [PF], returns from injury
2. Jason Smith [PF-C], returns from injury
3. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
4. Jrue Holiday [PG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 19, overall]  
5. Rodney Carney [SF], UFA

NEW JERSEY NETS
Significant Losses
1. Vince Carter [SF-OG], trade
2. Ryan Anderson [PF], trade

Significant Adds
1. Terrence Williams [SF-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 11, overall]
2. Courtney Lee [OG], trade
3. Rafer Alston [PG], trade
4. Tony Battie [PF-C], trade

TORONTO RAPTORS
Significant Losses
1. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
2. Shawn Marion [PF-SF], UFA/Sign & trade
3. Kris Humphries [PF], trade
4. Nathan Jawai [PF-C], trade
5. Anthony Parker [OG-SF-PG], UFA
6. Joey Graham [SF], UFA
7. Roko Ukic [PG], trade
8. Carlos Delfino [SF-OG], trade

Significant Adds
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. DeMar DeRozan [OG-SF], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 9, overall]
3. Hedo Turkoglu [SF], Sign & trade
4. Antoine Wright [SF-OG], trade
5. Jarrett Jack [PG-OG], RFA
6. Marco Belinelli [OG-SF-PG], trade
7. Rasho Nesterovic [C-PF], UFA
8. Amir Johnson [PF], trade 

NEW YORK KNICKS
Significant Losses
1. Quentin Richardson [SF-OG], trade
2. Chris Wilcox, PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Danilo Gallinari [SF-PF], returns from injury
2. Jordan Hill [PF-C], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 8, overall]
3. Toney Douglas [PG-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 29, overall]
4. Darko Milicic [PF-C], trade
5. Sun Yue [PG], UFA

While several NBA observers seem to think the Raptors SHOULD be much improved this coming season, based on the wholesale changes made to their roster … this corner does not necessarily share that same opinion, when evaluated against the LOSSESS & ADDS of the other teams in their Division.

Q1. Have the Raptors improved, overall, from last season, relative to their competition?

A1. Maybe; maybe not … is the correct answer, at this point.

The Knicks and Nets are in re-building mode, and the Raptors SHOULD have been expected to finish this coming season in NO WORSE than 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Celtics and, possibly, the 76ers … even if they would have done “nothing” substantive to improve their team this summer.

However, given that doing “nothing” was in fact the OPPOSITE of what the Raptors decided to do this off season … i.e. see above … it SHOULD now be EXPECTED that this supposedly improved team SHOULD finish NO WORSE than in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics.

Once this expectation is established, what then becomes interesting is …

if the divisional standings eventually look something like this:

ATLANTIC
1 Boston
2 Toronto or Philadelphia
3 Philadelphia or Toronto
4 New York or New Jersey
5 New Jersey or New York

and the conference standings eventually look something like this:

SOUTHEAST
1 Orlando
2 Atlanta or Miami or Washington
3 Miami Atlanto or Washington
4 Washington or Atlanta or Miami
5 Charlotte

CENTRAL
1 Cleveland
2 Detroit or Chicago or Indiana
3 Chicago or Detroit or Indiana
4 Indiana or Detroit or Chicago
5 Milwaukee

and the playoff race eventually looks something like this:

Eastern Conference
1-2-3 Orlando - High End, Southeast
1-2-3 Cleveland - High End, Central
1-2-3 Boston - High End, Atlantic

4-5-6 Atlanta - Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Miami - Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Washington - Upper Middle, Southeast

7-8-9-10-11-12 Detroit - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Chicago - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Indiana - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Toronto - Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Philadelphia - Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Charlotte - Low End, Southwest

12-13-14-15 Milwaukee - Low End, Central
12-13-14-15 New York - Low End, Atlantic
12-13-14-15 New Jersey - Low End, Atlantic

indicating, perhaps, that the relative strength of each division may be shifting this season:

#1. Southeast
#2. Central
#3. Atlantic 

IF a scenario like this is eventually what plays out this season, then, how much will the Raptors really have improved this summer, relative to the other teams in their Division and the Eastern Conference, as a whole?

In line with the series of “Raptors vs Eastern Conference Opponent Match-ups” which are being presenting in this space [i.e. I & II], there’s an interesting POV expressed today, by Arsenalist, at Raptors Republic, i.e. Comparing our bench to others, which sees Toronto’s 2nd Tier of players as actually holding sway this season over the likes of Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago, while being even with Orlando.

FWIW …

The view from this corner, on this specific topic, is somewhat different:

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RATIONALE

Vs Boston Celtics

When House gets used beside HOF players like KG, PP & Ray Ray, neither Jack nor Belinelli is a comparable player, in terms of actual productivity.

Davis may comparable to Evans … until you include the fact that Reggie can’t shoot the ball, at all, and is a veritable pylon on D.

Wallace is simply a far better Big than either Evans or Nesterovic.

Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Parker [6-6] is a semi-legit starting OG-SF in the NBA, compared with Belinelli, who is a legit starting PG-OG.

Moon’s versatility and PER are far better than Wright’s.

Ilgauskas is a solid mid & long range jump-shooter who is a tough check for either Nesterovic or Evans that far away from the basket.

Vs Orlando Magic

Pietrus is a far superior rebounder, defender and scorer than either Belinelli or Wright.

Anderson is a solid mid & long range jump-shooter who is a tough check for either Evans or Nesterovic.

Gortat is simply a far superior Big to Nesterovic or Evans, at this stage of their respective careers.

Vs Detroit Pistons

Villanueva is a far superior scorer, as a Big, to either Evans or Nesterovic.

Maxiell is a tougher player than Evans and a better interior scorer & rebounder than Nesterovic.

Wilcox is just as tough as Evans but a much better scorer.

Vs Chicago Bulls

Neither Belinelli nor Wright is as good a Wing player as Salmons.

Noah is a much better rebounder and shot-blocker than either Evans or Nesterovic.

Salmons & Noah together are enough to off-set the advantage which the Raptors have when compared to the trio of Hunter, Pargo & James.

Vs Atlanta Hawks

Crawford played over Belinelli last season [in G-State] for a reason [i.e. Jamaal can defend Marco; Marco can’t defend Jamaal].

Evans may be a comparable to Wright on D but he is a better player on O, as Maurice actually shoots at a solid percentage.

Pachulia is an even tougher Big than Evans.

Smith is a solid mid-range jump-shooter and a tough check for Nesterovic or Evans that far away from the basket.

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Vive La Différence!

There’s a tonne of information on-line right now but this one, courtesy of John Schuhmman, is as sound and concise as any:

Position-by-position: Top 5 free agents
As we’ve seen in the NBA Draft over the years, the best strategy is usually to take the best player available. You never know how draft picks will turn out, so selecting the guy closest to a sure thing, even if you’ve already got a similar player on your roster, is often the prudent way to go.

In free agency, though, teams pretty much know what kind of player they’re getting. Teams have seen what these guys can do and are able to better evaluate what they’re capable of and what they can bring to their team.

So the next few weeks will be about finding the right fit, both on the court and on the payroll.

———-

By position, the following players are under-rated [#, indicates where they should be ranked] in this year’s Free Agent class, according to yours truly:

POINT GUARDS
* Ramon Sessions [#1]
* Jarret jack [#2]
* CJ Watson [#6]

OFF GUARDS
* Anthony Parker [#1]

SMALL FORWARDS
* None

POWER FORWARDS
* Antonio McDyess [#3]
* Brandon Bass [#7]
* James Singleton [#9]

CENTERS
* Johan Petro {#4]

It seems as though a certain segment within Raptorville is, once again, suffering from grotesque “delusions of grandeur”, regarding the actual ability and hoped for improvement of Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250, 2006 No. 1 Overall Selection] this off-season.

i.e. According to Doug Smith, in a segment on PrimeTime Sports [FAN590] yesterday, a legitimate case can be made that Bargnani might qualify as the 2nd Best Center in the Eastern Conference [EC] over the course of the 2009-2010 season.

The following list contains the names of the 15 Centers expected to play this position for their current teams, in the EC next season:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers [1]
Kendric Perkins, Boston Celtics [2]
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic [3]
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks [4]
Jermaine O’Neal, Miami Heat [5]
Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers [6]
Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls [7]
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit Pistons [8]
Jeff Foster, Indiana Pacers [9]
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats [10]
Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets [11]
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks [12]
Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors [13]
David Lee, New York Knicks [14]
Brendan Haywood, Washington [15]

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Although yours truly usually finds very little to agree upon with host Bob McCown that is not the case in this instance.

According to these eyes, whoever happens to agree with Doug Smith, in this regard, is quite likely to be suffering from a form of Post-Concussion Syndrome … as there are, at least, 7 players who should be listed ahead of Il Mago on a depth chart of this sort looking forward just 1 season.

In advance of this evening’s RAPTORS/Pistons match-up …

Here’s a little Food For Thought tidbit, courtesy of a thread at the RaptorsRepublic.com, which is now the best “Dino’s fan site” available on-line, and linked with the TrueHoop Network: An ESPN Affiliate.

Enjoy!

================================================

Rasheed to Drink Bosh’s Milkshake 
The Line

VegasInsider.com has the game as a “Pick to Pistons -1″.

Prediction

Pistons, might be close, but a loss is a loss. Not even thinking of calling a Raptor win after what we saw against Philly…must have been high to make that pick…

Comment #3, by khandor [that's yours truly ]

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re: Comment #1.

PISTONS -1………… CALL YOUR LOCAL BOOKIE….

THAT’S FREE MONEY….. - by Lock of the Week
—————————————

Not that the Pistons aren’t the Right Way to go in this match-up, at that number, but those who might be so inclined to wager a share of their own hard-earned $$$ on the outcome of a professional sports event with a set margin margin of victory involved should always remember that …

When something looks too good to be true [in life], all too frequently, it is …

with the actual/eventual outcome being “opposite” to what most would have expected, in advance.

————————
Prime Example #1. “This is our best Raptors’ team put together yet, on paper.” - Bryan Colangelo

During the pre-season, The Prospective Total Season Wins for the Raptors this year was:

OVER 47.5/+100
UNDER 47.5/-116

Given the “look” of things back then … and “the noise” coming out of Raptorville,

“Where would YOUR $$$ have gone, at the time?”

[i.e. on the Over or the Under] 

————————

Invest your $$$ sensibly, in a balanced way … and, when tough times hit, you should be able to ride them out, relatively pain-free, in comparison with those who are wreckless, and inappropriately over-emphasized in any one phase of the game, or the other, in a short term way, to their own detriment, on a long term basis.

There are three distinct phases to the game of basketball, i.e. Offense, Defense & Rebounding, and a High [Yield-?] End Team is capable of working all three in a productive way, when need be.

There are other attractive investment opportunities on the NBA dockett this evening, as well. Do not fixate on just this one, because it might “look too good to be true”.

Caveat Emptor!

————————

PS. If you’d been fortunate enough to listen to a certain blogger … who is also a Raptors fan, amongst other things … back in October, you would have known, at least, the following two things:

#1. The UNDER was the Right Way to go on the Raptors this season, at 47.5/-116;

while,

#2. The LA Lakers, OVER 54.5/-126, was IN FACT the best bet on the board, in the NBA Futures, that day.

Enjoy this evening’s game against Detroit, one and all.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. - Anonymous

[There ain't nothing, in Life, more True than THAT!]

Back on Dec 8 2009 … THIS is what was suggested in this corner as the most effective solution to Pistons’ problem[s] this season, since their acquisition of Allen Iverson and the departure of Chauncey Billups.

One of the key tenets of this corner is the notion that …

There is seldom, if ever, just ONE effective solution to a Problem in Life, and never ever should one consider oneself to be stuck permanently in a LOSE-Lose [i.e. NO WIN] situation.

On the contrary, this corner believes whole-heartedly that, in fact, there are at least TWO WAYS to accomplish an objective in this world, in most cases, and there is always An Effective WAY OUT of a situation which might otherwise appear to be a lost cause … if one puts one’s thinking cap on, has some fun, works smart, works together with others, and thinks in a manner which others might consider to be unconventional [i.e. outside-the-box].

To wit:

Please see, 1.The Life Truth of The Kobayashi Maru; 2. What it means to Not Believe in the No-Win Scenario, in the first place; and, 3. What to do when caught with your britches down.

=========================

Since the Pistons have refused to implement Option 1, thus far, it is now incumbent upon their basketball brain-trust to search for, and then implement, an Option 2.

——————————–

Whether Michael Curry, Joe Dumars, or Rodney Stuckey, likes it or not … the Pistons can still become the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference, again this season, if they eventually come to the following realization about their team’s mix of players:

#1. PG - Allen Iverson
#2. OG - Rip Hamilton [at least 30 MP and finishing their games]
#3. SF - Tayshaun Prince 
#4. PF - Antonio McDyess
#5. C - Rasheed Wallace
=========
#6. Back-up PG/OG - Rodney Stuckey [ala The Micro-wave]
#7. SF - Arron Afflalo
#8. PF - Amir Johnson/Jason Maxiell
#9. C - Maxiell/Kwame Brown
=========
#10. SF - Walter Herrmann
#11. PF/C - Johnson/Maxiel/Brown
=========
#12. PG - Will Bynum [4th string]

Although their best Group-Of-5 does no longer includes Mr. Iverson at all, given his defensive & rebounding limitations, at this stage of his illustrious career, if he’s used as the Starting PG, exclusively … with The Real Deal in relief of him, in addition to getting extra time at the OG-spot, as a Back-up to Rip … AI would [i] still be able to receive major minutes on this team, and [ii] would not be holding back the long term development of Rodney Stuckey, as the future leader of the Pistons,

who would then still have what it takes to regain their perch beside the Boston Celtics.

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Despite the fact that first-year Head Coach, Michael Curry has not handled his initial crisis with the Pistons in an effective way, how he handles this situation, moving forward from here, is now the second significant test of his leadership with their team.

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Hopefully he Chooses [more] Wisely this time around.