khandor’s sports blog

Last summer, the Toronto Raptors re-worked almost their entire roster, in an effort to qualify for the playoffs - and, to advance to, at least, the 2nd Round - by making the following personnel moves:

Although the team improved its win total from the previous season [i.e. 40 vs 33], it still failed to make the playoffs … due, primarily, to: [i] The 2nd half of the season injuries to their marquee player, Chris Bosh; and, [ii] The fact that the rest of their players - and coaches - were simply not good enough to win the required number of ’late season’ games, without their Captain in the line-up … after spending the middle portion of the schedule solidly in the playoff picture.

This summer, in addition to losing Chris Bosh, via unrestricted free agency, the Raptors have decided to re-vamp their roster, again, by making another series of sweeping personnel changes:

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Raptors acquire F Wright from Hornets

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Wright averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 68 games with New Orleans last season.his move should help balance the roster and alleviate some of the redundancy we have with our guards,” Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a release Wednesday. “Julian is another young athletic player that will add depth at the small forward position.”

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As a result of these consecutive drastic ’summer make-overs’, the Raptors line-up now projects like this for next season:

… which means that the only remnants of the 2006-2007 team that went 47-35, to capture the Atlanta Division and earn a #3 seed in the EC playoffs, as well as the 2007-2008 version that finished in 6th place, are Jose Calderon [i.e. a high efficiency PG] and Andrea Bargnani [i.e. a low efficiency C]. 

There’s an old saying in life which goes something like this:

“Never make the error in judgment of mistaking activity for accomplishment.” - Anonymous

To these eyes, the Raptors are almost right back where they were, in 1997-1998, prior to the arrival of Vincent Lamar Carter.   

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PS. Don’t think for a minute that the Raptors have actually concluded their annual “summer make-over” … with the expiring contracts of Marcus Banks and Reggie Evans still in their pocket, plus a high efficiency PG - who they have already tried to trade on two occasions this off season - and, a 7-deep depth chart at the PG and OG positions which includes Calderon, Jack, Barbosa, Banks, DeRozan, Weems and Barbosa. Nosiree … instead of simply flying under the radar next season, in an effort to land a high quality player like Harrison Barnes, expect the Raptors to continue to try to upgrade their existing roster, in another futile push for a lower-tier spot in the playoffs.

In the aftermath of Game 2 …

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Stan Van Gundy will try to get Rashard Lewis more involved offensively

Rashard Lewis Needs to Improve Offensively if the Orlando Magic Want to Challenge the Boston Celtics

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This is now a central topic for discussion, on the part of Magic fans and other NBA observers.

In reality …

The answer is very simple.

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Orlando MUST:

1. Stop posting up Dwight Howard on the block.

2. Start using Dwight Howard in repeated ”2/3-5, High Middle, Pick and Roll” situations …

i. With the following players on the court:

Off Guard/#2 - Vince Carter

Center/#5 - Dwight Howard

Point Guard/#1 - Jameer Nelson

Small Forward/#3 - Mickael Pietrus

Power Forward/#4 - Rashard Lewis

ii. Located in the following positions on the court:

Off Guard/#2-Small Forward/#3, as The Ball-handler

Center/#5, as The Pick and Roller 

Point Guard/#1, in The Original Ball Side Corner

Small Forward/#3-Off Guard/#2, at The Original Ball Side Free Throw Line Extended

Power Forward/#4 - in The Original Weak Side Corner

3. Demand that their #2-3’s attack the Hedging Pick Defender, by going around him toward the Original Weak Side of the floor and, then, looking for one of the following options:

a. His own drive to the basket;

b. A lob pass to D-12, for a dunk opportunity;

c. A kickout pass to Rashard Lewis for an uncontested 3PT shot from the corner;

d. A throwback pass to Mickael Pietrus for an uncontested 3PT shot, as he re-locates to the Top Of The Key position [following Howard's roll to the basket];

e. A cross-court skip pass to Jameer Nelson for an uncontested 3PT shot, as he re-locates to the New Weak Side Free Throw Line Extended position.

If Orlando runs this simple set play … this exact way … it will generate, either:

I. Open shots galore for Rashard Lewis;

or,

II. A career night for one of Vincent Lamar Carter, or Mickael Pietrus, as their primary ball-handler.

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PS. Hopefully, Stan Van Gundy is paying close attention to what’s written here.

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.

Although plenty of other NBA observers have expressed their concerns regarding the current performance of the Orlando Magic …

A Quantitative Look at the Orlando Magic’s Four All-Stars

Orlando Magic News for January 19th: Sobering Assessments of Orlando’s Season Abound at the Halfway Mark

much of what’s been said to-date misses the mark completely, when it comes to diagnosing accurately:

#1. What’s been going on with Orlando in the last month [or so]?

and,

#2. What specific remedies the Magic will need to implement, in order to make their problems disappear for the balance of this season? 

There are five simple [inter-related] player personnel moves which Stan Van Gundy needs to implement that will cure what is ailing the Orlando Magic at the moment:

1. Replace Jason Williams with Anthony Johnson as the exclusive primary Back-up Point Guard to Jameer Nelson.

2. Remove Matt Barnes from the regular rotation.

3. Shift Rashard Lewis into the Starting Small Forward position.

4. Shift Ryan Anderson into the Starting Power Forward position.

5. Use Brandon Bass in the Back-up Power Forward position.

What these five specific changes would do, in effect, is create a regular rotation which features the following Start Five:

Jameer Nelson, PG
Vince Carter, OG
Rashard Lewis, SF
Ryan Anderson, PF
Dwight Howard, C

in conjunction with the following set of Key Subs off the bench:

Anthony Johnson, PG
JJ Redick, OG
Mickael Pietrus, SF
Brandon Bass, PF 
Marcin Gortat, C

and the following list of Reserves/Extras/Outs:

Jason Williams, PG
Matt Barnes, SF
Adonal Foyle, C

Move #1
With a healthy Jameer Nelson [PG] in their everyday line-up, an erratic player like Jason Williams [PG] is not the right fit with their team, in a primary back-up role, in comparison with a more consistent player like Anthony Johnson [who is a much better defender and rebounder than J-Wil, at this stage of their respective careers].

Game Log for Anthony Johnson in Orlando’s Last 13 Games

Game Log for Anthony Johnson when playing +10:00

Move #2
Although Matt Barnes [6-7, 226] has proved to be an energetic player over the course of his NBA career, right now he is not a “good fit” with the Magic, given his specific skill-set [i.e. 3FG%=28.6; Ast:TO=1.0] and considering the other guards and forwards on their roster.

Move #3
Using a player like Rashard Lewis [6-10, 230] at the Starting SF position makes the Magic bigger at this spot … i.e. compared with Matt Barnes [6-7, 226] … while still retaining their collective ability to shoot the ball effectively from the perimeter [i.e. 3FG%=39.5] and make good decisions [i.e. Ast:TO=1.0] around a center-piece like Dwight Howard.

This move would then allow Mickael Pietrus to flourish, by providing Orlando with a much better scorer and defender coming off the bench, at this key swing position, instead of Matt Barnes.

Move #4
Ryan Anderson is a solid low-maintenance perimeter shooting Big Man who can stretch defense around D-12 and defend adequately: [i] on the perimeter against smaller players, and [ii] in the post against non-behemoth Power Forwards and Centers.

Move #5
Brandon Bass is an under-sized Power Forward who, on offense, works well in the mid-range area [i.e. FG%=53.1] and is able to hold his ground, defensively, and in terms of rebounding, against any Back-up PF. Unfortunately, to this point in the season, he is being wasted on the Magic’s bench with a series of DNPs.

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Magic Remedy, Part 1

If Stan Van Gundy makes these specific personnel adjustments Orlando will finish in 1 of the top 4 positions in the Eastern Conference, once again, and advance to the East Finals, against Boston or Cleveland or Atlanta or Miami, with a solid shot at returning to the NBA Finals this season. 

Magic Remedy, Part II

What Stan Van Gundy also needs to do, however, is return to being the curmudgeon he has always been, not the giant “teddy bear” he has morphed into recently, in the aftermath of Dwight Howard’s request to “lighten up” on his routinely harsh criticism of his own team/players.

If Stan chooses to continue on his current path, then, Orlando will have very little chance of besting Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta or Miami in the playoffs this season.

This is not the sort of team that Stan Van Gundy can afford to “go soft on”.

This evening’s game between Toronto [11-16/.407, 2nd Atlantic] and Orlando [18-6/.750, 1st Southeast] marks the first occasion for the “Turkish Michael Jordan” to make a return visit to his old haunt in the Magic Kingdom.

As the former “go-to, clutch time” performer for last season’s squad in Orlando, which played its way to the NBA Finals …

What did it really say about Hedo Turkoglu [at 30 years of age] that he was actually willing to forego the opportunity to win a NBA championship with the Magic this season, in order to sign a $50.0 M contract to play the next 5 seasons for the Toronto Raptors?

Perhaps, that he really does care more about being content and comfortable in his own personal life than he cares about doing what’s necessary to win a NBA championship.

Doing what’s necessary to win a NBA championship?

For example:

* Getting back in defensive transition to prevent easy opposition baskets.

* Defending one’s individual check with consistent tenacity.

* Defending, in a half-court team context, with thorough responsibility.

* Rebounding with an absolute commitment to recover the ball.

* Discriminating readily between an open and a contested shot attempt.

* Physically standing up for a fallen/vulnerable teammate, when need be.

* A willingness to play within an assigned role for the good of the team.

* A willingness to sacrifice oneself [i.e. the physical body, as well as, personal wants and desires] for the benefit of the team.

In their 16 losses this year, Bryan Colangelo’s Raptors have succumbed by margins of:

Considering that the acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu/SF:

Career Stats, Hedo Turkoglu

was one of the two major personnel moves made by the Raptors this past summer …

along with the $50.0 M, 5-yr extension of the ‘rookie contract’ for former No. 1 [overall] Draft Pick, Andrea Bargnani/C:

Career Stats, Andrea Bargnani

it should be of little wonder to the Raptors faithful that Toronto is mired in the lower half of the Eastern Conference, in a quest for the last playoff position.

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Shame on those who actually thought that Otis Smith [GM, Orlando Magic] may not have known exactly what he was talking about …

Orlando Magic GM dissing Hedo Turkoglu?

in his alleged conversations with Kevin Pritchard [GM, Portland Trail Blazers], in the aftermath of Mr. Turkoglu’s decision to sign on with the Raptors, and that Hedo Turkoglu’s priorities might actually include winning a NBA title. 

Caveat Emptor!

Which team[s] made out the best from the 4-team trade … between Toronto, Dallas, Memphis and Orlando … this past summer?

Rick Kamla gets it right.

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

After “whiffing” yesterday … Dave Feschuk returns to form and goes yard with his column today, featuring the rambled musings of none other than “The Oakster”, himself:

Feschuk: The Oakley show rolls back into town
“You ain’t going nowhere with 7-footers shooting three-pointers. You can’t put four or five scorers on the floor at one time. You can, but you ain’t going nowhere. You got four or five scorers on the floor, ain’t enough shots in a game, in a quarter, for everybody to be consistent. You need your two scorers, outside threat and a post-up threat. You need your sixth man who can score. You need another guy that can just be an all-around energy guy, and you need another guy who can just, you know, play basketball.”

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Do yourself a favour and read the whole thing.

In each and every instance, what Charles has to say is 100% accurate.

The next time yours truly gets asked the following question:

“Who do you think would succeed as the next GM for the Toronto Raptors?”

The first name they will now receive has been clearly identified.

If former NBA players like Mitch Kupchak, Danny Ainge, Otis Smith, Kevin Pritchard, Geoff Petrie, Ernie Grunfeld, Jim Paxson, Danny Ferry, etc., can succeed as executives in this league … then, why, oh, why, can’t someone like Mr. Charles Oakley.

Orlando Magic 125
TORONTO RAPTORS 116
[Sun Nov 01 2009]

Box Score Info

Crucial Sequence, Play-By-Play