Tip-In: No Gold in Denver for Road-Weary Raps

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Nov 18, 2006 12:00 AM EST

What more can you say?

The Raptors are 0-4 on their road trip and all four losses were winnable games...well...at some point.

In last night's 117-109 loss to the Nuggets, Toronto kept Denver's field goal percentage at 45 per cent, got to the free throw line almost as much as the Nuggets, had eight more assists as a team and turned the ball over only eight times to Denver's 20.

However Denver's size and work on the boards were too much as they outrebounded Toronto 58 to 37. The second chance points killed the Raptors when it mattered most and combined with Toronto's shooting woes, Denver powered through to the finish line for the win.

Carmello Anthony led the Nuggets with 34 points and contrary to the Raptors' gunners, seemed to hit every big shot he had to to preserve the win.

Oh yes, Toronto's shooting.

The Raptors did shoot a respectable 46 per cent from the field but shot a horrid 25 per cent from beyond the arc. At the free throw line Toronto was sub-par as well hitting only 19 of their 27 shots. As mentioned before, for a team that wants to drive and kick, it's imperative that the Raptors' wing players start knocking down these shots or it's going to be a long season.

After the game, Chris Bosh looked visably upset by yet another loss and appeared to be in a heated discussion with TJ Ford. Hopefully Ford wasn't the target of CB4's frustrations as he had his best game as a Raptor with 26 points and 18 assists. Ford's assist total was one off from Damon Stoudamire's franchise record of 19 and I finally saw the player who I hoped Toronto had acquired when they dealt CV Smooth. TJ consistently drove the ball to the rim, was aggressive in initiating the offense, took open mid-range jumpers when given the opportunity and one can only imagine how many assists he would have had if the Raptors had knocked down even a few more of their outside shots.

In fact you gotta feel for Bosh though through all this losing. He had another solid game with 31 points and nine rebounds and even got the touches near the game's end but once again, it was not enough. And with Utah and Cleveland looming next week, I'm not sure how much light there is at the end of the tunnel...especially considering the way Toronto has played on this trip.

But let's end this on a positive note shall we? Sure, Toronto is now 2 and 7 and tied for the second-worst record in the league, but I am finally seeing some good signs for later in the season...and I don't mean purely in the Greg Oden chase.

For one, Jose Garbajosa, who found himself in the starting lineup again for Toronto last night, also had his best game of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block while shooting 50 per cent from the field. And after doing an excellent job defensively against Lamar Odom on Friday night, he followed this up with another strong performance and looks to be a good fit to stay with the starting five.

Fred Jones had a rough night shooting the ball from long range but in the past two games has looked much more like the "take the ball to the rim and dunk on them" Jones that I thought Toronto had signed as a free agent. If he can continue to get comfortable in this slashing role and leave the outside shooting to Mo Pete and Anthony Parker, this will give Toronto a good 1-2 punch when combined with the interior play of CB4.

And finally, if TJ can play at the level that he played last night on a regular basis, that's a huge plus for this Toronto team, currently in desperate need of consistent play from its starters.

Last night it was Toronto's bench who didn't give the Raptors' much of a lift and Sam Mitchell stuck with his starters for longer chunks of time than ever before this season. Case in point, super-sub Jose Calderon played only 10 minutes in the loss. However, to get a W from the 9 and 1 Utah Jazz Monday night, the Raptors' know they'll need solid contributions from their entire team.

FRANCHISE

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Comments

Do you guys play fantasy hoops? I'm in a league and was just offered Bosh for Arenas.

by Spudz on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Spudz - Tough call...these questions usually come down to what your categories are in your league and what you need currently. Bosh right now though is hitting in a ton of categories - scoring, rebounding (offensive and defensive), blocks, free throw attempts and FG percentage so if you're looking for help in those areas...however currently in most traditional scoring leagues Arenas has a higher value than Bosh based on his ridiculous free-throw percentage, scoring, 3 pointers and steals...

by Franchise on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

We are clearly a worse 3 pt. shooting team than last year, but for some reason we are attempting far more three pointers than last season. The Sam Mitchell adventure continues. It's a shame that such a versatile roster has been pigeonholed into an offense that lives and dies by its shooting.

Garbajosa reminds me of Calderon last year. Both were proficient 3 pt. shooters in Europe who had trouble finding their range in the NBA. Jorge's a smart player who's found how to impact the game without shooting 3's and I'm confident he'll be able to extend his range by next season.

by Pdee on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Remember Sam telling us it would take time to gel? Well it is. And while we dont' have a San Antonio starting roster, we have a SA divergence of skills. Living and mostly dying by the 3 pointer is pointless and limited.

by Ease My Pain on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

It's coming, but Sam is impatient. His body language is really negative. He may contaminate the team. Rolling eyes, throwing hands, pouting, and out right displays of disappointment that he shouldn't be showing so often and open....

Heerre's the plan...Start Jose but don't give him starter minutes...give him the first 3-4 mins then push in TJ...Jose warms things up by organizing the offense and preparing them for the run and gun by feeding everyone...

And whoever Jose is guarding will only kill him in the beginning (let's face it, Jose is a nice guard be he has that thing that you know you can take him and score, he is no threat to anyone defensively, even if it looks like he plays ok defense)...

TJ comes in and changes pace, everyone else is warm and we go from there...

peace out

by Grounded on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

We have three wings who should all be bench players. Team three point shooting is below 30% and no one has stepped as a 2nd option.

Ford will be fine, Bargnani is as advertised and Bosh is phenomenal. just need a star w

by raptorville on Nov 19, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

The only "silver lining" I see is that the Raps have played one of the toughest schedules in the league so far. (NJ, SA, LAL, DEN, UTH games are a guaranteed 0-5). This means that, while our record is 2-8, in reality we're 2-3 with the only "bad" loss to Atlanta at home. Man, I'm really grasping at straws . . .

by Aaron on Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Technically, I don't think we are in the Greg Oden chase. I thought there was an NBA rule that said you can't get the #1 pick two years in a row.

It's all good tough as Greg will stay in school an extra year long enough for us to scoop him up the following year.

by Erezona on Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

People need to chill out. Everyone knows that Sam Mitchell is not a good coach, the Raptor's defense stinks, and after Bosh there is no number two scorer. However, most of the team has less than 3 years NBA experience and there are nine new players. (My goodness why haven't they won five championships yet!) Sam will last at least until the All star break because the team needs some kind of continuity and because no rebuilding team can do it all in one year. Look for a big "thanks but we need to take the team in a new direction" firing of Sam after this season and the addition/ trade for a FA or two who can score and play some hard nosed D.

by Todd on Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Sam should go now. His dismissal is a foregone conclusion and Coangelo already knows he wants Marc Ivaroni in the coach's chair. Many speculate that Mitchell is not an Xs and Os coach and that seems to be the case--players never appear to be where they are supposed to be (rebounding, cutting, etc.). The Raps have a young team and they need a teacher now before the bad habits are so ingrained that another blown up team is just around the corner.

Whay wait? It's going to happen anyway. And while they are at it, they can trade Swirsky for a bag of balls or tub of Gatorade. I've had it with his small-market talent. Get someone reasonable in there, someone who doesn't think "Ya Gotta Love It!" is a stroke of originality.

Andrew Gregg,
Toronto

by Andrew Gregg on Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions