Tip-In: The Good, The Bad

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Nov 2, 2006 10:20 AM EST

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Perhaps if the Raps hadn't shot 39 per cent from the field things would have been different.

Perhaps if Chris Bosh had been healthy through the pre-season, the score would have reflected a different final outcome.

And perhaps if Toronto had held the New Jersey Nets to at least under 50 per cent shooting from the field, the Raptors would have won their season opener instead of falling 102-92 to the Nets.

There were some bright spots, like TJ Ford and Anthony Parker, both of whom had great games for the Raptors. And at times the Raptors played very well offensively showing good ball movement (particularly in the second quarter) and defensively (near the mid-point of the third quarter.)

However in the end, the team just couldn't buy a shot and even in the third quarter when they were making stops, they weren't converting on the other end of the court.

Bosh in particular looked rusty, as was expected, but at least he seemed to be fully mobile out there, if not back at a peak level of conditioning.

It's only game one, but watching it made me realize a few things:

1) Without Chris Bosh playing at an All-Star level, this team is going to have problems offensively. As well as Anthony Parker played last night doing his best Jerry Stackhouse rendition, I'm not sure I want the offense running through him. With Bosh struggling last night, Mo Pete having shooting woes and Fred Jones being slightly invisible, that's indeed what Toronto was forced to do on many a possession. This year Toronto really doesn't have any kind of "back to the basket" presence besides Bosh (even Rasho is more of a face-up jump-shooter from 12 feet and in) and you could see last night that in a half-court setting, Toronto was forced to settle for too many outside jump shots.

In addition, you may have noticed last night that the Raptors barely ran any pick-and-roll schemes. While TJ Ford shot well from the field, he's not the scoring threat Mike James was and without an effective inside game from Bosh (or Bargnani hopefully at some point) Toronto has to rely on swinging the ball in hopes of finding someone for a somewhat open shot.

2) As we touched on yesterday, the team who controlled the flow of the game did come out on top. The Nets were more effective in their style of play even beating the Raptors down the court for open layups on several occasions. And with the game in hand late in the fourth quarter, the Nets ground the pace to a halt thereby visibly reducing the effectiveness of Toronto's attack.

3) The benches. Howland has more to say on this subject below but for now I'm simply going to state that New Jersey's bench won the day outscoring Toronto's and considering players like Mikki Moore and Bostjan Nachbar were having significant impacts, it's obvious that Toronto has a ways to go in this area regardless of pre-season success.

FRANCHISE

There were a few things that really stood out to me on the opening night. The first is the fact that EVERY Raptor got minutes. That's right, all 12. A few thoughts on this.

I understand the theory, which is if you have a running team that is deep, then why not keep fresh legs out there at all times. Not everyone is as deep as this team, so in theory this seems sound. What works in theory does not necessarily work in practice. Playing 10 or more guys on a regular basis is simply not going to work in my opinion - in particular when you feel like Mitchell is just simply picking guys randomly off the bench. Perfect example of this? PJ Tucker making what can only be described as a totally random appearance in the fourth quarter. If you play ten or twelve guys, how are they going to know their roles? One of the things that great NBA teams have is a coach that clearly establishes the role of each player. We apparently have character guys, who should then feel comfortable playing a certain role for this team. The team is through its pre-season and is now playing games that matter and I still really have no sense as to what role certain players have on this team. Jones played very little point guard, Humphries and Bargnani made essentially what were token appearances, and we also saw Ford and Calderon playing together which happened rarely, if at all during the pre-season even when Ford was healthy. If this subbing patern continues I guarantee that Mitchell loses his job before you know it.

Speaking of Jones he didn't really show up tonight. That being said it is only one game but this team needs Jones to be consistent. His ability to get to the line and make plays needs to be put on display regularly. Let's see if he bounces back. If he doesn't, this team could be in hot water. Let's call a spade a spade...this team unlike say the Phoenix Suns, is not exactly full of shooters. Ford shot about as well as he will all year tonight, Calderon, albeit better, is still not a shooting threat, and guys like Jones and Graham (and even Peterson if he shoots like he did last night) are not exactly putting fear in opponents. You look at these guys and tell me you are not comfortable cheating a little on D if you're the other club? Until Parker, and especially Jones prove they are consistent threats from the outside, the half-court offence could be in trouble. This can't happen because the patented pick-and-roll from last year really isn't there now with Ford and Calderon playing the point.

One of the main reasons the Raps lost tonight's opener is that the Raps shot below 40% and the Nets shot just over 50%. Had you taken the names off the back of the players jerseys tonight I could have sworn I was watching last year's squad from a defensive standpoint. There was however a glimmer of hope. During the middle of the third quarter the Rapstors defense was much, much better. The players on the floor at the time? Parker, Jones, Ford, Peterson and Garbajosa. Between the 6:14 mark and the 2:04 mark of the quarter the Nets managed three points with these guys on the floor. Over and over Ford would double and unlike last year, guys would make the proper rotations and do so ON TIME. The defense also got a boost from Garbajosa who just plays smart defense. Unfortunately however the Raps couldn't get over the hump and their shots were not falling at the other end. Therefore although this line-up put the clamps down, numbers like 5-15 and 1-8 are not going to cut it in terms of winning games.

Finally, the Raptors had a chance in this game which says a lot considering how poorly Bosh played. He is clearly still trying to get into the groove and you can really tell that he is adjusting his shot. After Jefferson was called for a flagrant foul, CB4 went 0-2 from the line. I can't remember if that even happened last year! Hopefully the result of Bosh changing an already good shot will draw parallels to Tiger Woods when he completely remade his swing. Woods went from excellent to near perfect...but not without some bumps along the way.

Quick Hits:

- Anyone else surprised that Rasho played so little? He looked solid in his nine minutes of PT regardless of foul trouble.

- Is there anything better than the NBA and having 13 games on the slate?

- For those keeping notes at home, the Raps shot the ball 94 times. That is A LOT.

- Apparently Marty York has reported that Vince Carter is thinking that coming back to Toronto after he opts out this year may be a good idea. We think Marty York moving to New Jersey is a better idea. York is like a square wheel. Useless.

HOWLAND

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Comments

Yikes, Milwaukee smoked Detroit in the paint and CV had a dbl-dbl. Bogut and CV must be smacking their lips right now, thinking about their next game. I know its a long season and way way too early to call a must win game, but Fri night is going to be VERY important from the Raps psyche perspective.

by Rubik Kube on Nov 2, 2006 10:56 AM EST reply actions

The bottom line on last nights game was that the Raps got absolutely nothing from their bigs. That's why they lost the game. If Bosh gets his averages from last season, 22 pts. 9 rbs. you're looking at a tie game going down the stretch. Factor in the fact that Petersen shot the ball poorly as well and there's you're reason for the loss.

I would've liked to see Humphries play a little more. I thought he did a decent job while out there. He would've helped shore up the rebounding at the very least.

I thought Anthony Parker was excellent last night. I don't expect to see that on a nightly basis, but if you can get a reasonable facsimilie of that on a nightly basis, he'll be a huge help.

TJ Ford was very good last night as well, although I thought Calderon was good in the (very) limited minutes that he saw. On nights where Ford's shot is falling, it may not be a bad idea to go small and have 2 guys in the backcourt that can really push the tempo.

PJ tucker was in good position for most of the night....even grabbing a couple of offensive rebounds, but couldn't finish around the basket. He looked real small in there.

Let's all hope that that's the worst Joey Graham we see all year. For a guy who was allegedly ready for a breakout year, that was an absolutely TERRIBLE performance.

Garbajosa looked brutal shooting the ball last night, but I liked the rest of his game. I suspect that he'll be alot more proficient with his shot as the season progresses. He seems like one of those "intangibles" guys that every team needs. We need to get Swirsky to refer to him as the "Porn Player" however (his nickname in Europe). Works alot better than the "Garbage Man".

Bargnani struggled....no surprise. Rookies struggle early in the season. Charlie V struggled early on as well with fouls if I recall. The difference between this year and last is there is alot more talent on this team, so Bargnani will not be allowed to play through his mistakes nearly as much as Charlie was last year.

Did you see the look on Kidd's face when Ford took that ball off him? Then the ref blows the whistle for no apparent reason, and gives the ball back to the Nets. Sadly, nobody's allowed to complain about it this year or the T's start flying.

As of right now, there are 8 guys on this team that are not overmatched regardless of who they are playing against....Bosh, Ford, Parker, Petersen, Nesterovic, Garbajosa, Jones, Calderon. You can play these 8 and not have any worries about what you're gonna get. With the rest of these guys, Sam is going to have to pick his spots.

8 guys who a coach can trust? Could you say that about last year's team?

by Jeff on Nov 2, 2006 11:53 AM EST reply actions

Carter coming back to TO?? What is this guy smoking?? Actually - I wouldn't mind - cause I could boo him more often. Geez - the more I think about it ... that line up would rock!!! Bah ... enough of that.

I like Parker. He's going to be a clutch player for the raps. Just seems calm when the pressure in on and can find a shot almost anywhere. Vince was playing him tight.

Once Bargnani gets his feet wet - the lineup of ford, parker, bargnani, bosh, rasho looks pretty strong with mo pete / garba / calderon / jones off the bench.
I agree with you guys - too many guys saw too many minutes. Isn't that what the pre-season is for. Make your decisions Sam!! Tucker & Graham should sit Loren Woods style. I was quite confused by the lineup at times.

Bosh looked like he was lost out there. That will change - as will the raps.

I thought The Score Television Network had changed their policy on showing the game score and clock .. I was getting right pissed until they fixed it.

God I missed raptors games ...

by utes on Nov 2, 2006 12:00 PM EST reply actions

That 'inadvertent whistle' was a killer. And at points, the defense was very nice. I saw a lot of things that gave me hope, and hearing the media reports calling this a terrible game are way off, imo.

by Toolsy on Nov 2, 2006 12:03 PM EST reply actions

Same old . same old . The Rps collapsing . Better put your boys in good condition if you aim to play the running game coach Mitchell . It's obvious the Raps ran out of gas !

by coach on Nov 2, 2006 12:05 PM EST reply actions

The guy who disappointed me most last night was Mr. Graham. This guy clearly has no clue and will NEVER EVER EVER be an NBA player of any kind. Mitchell would do well to nail him to the end of the bench and put some sort of brace on his neck that prevents him from looking in Joey's direction when choosing the next sub-in.

PJ Tucker, on the other hand, did a couple of really nice things yesterday including some tough, in traffic, rebounds and deflecting a ball that led to an easy basket on the other end. While he clearly doesn't have the hops of the aforementioned first round pick, he looks like he is of above-average intelligence and knows what the point of playing basketball is. (winning, not sticking your arms out in the air and pretending you're a plane.)

Bargnani was a little off (he looked terrified, didn't he?) but I think he will be a 8 and 4 guy by the end of the year. Ford was fine, but he took a number of ill-advised shots from just inside the arc well before the rest of his team made it down to that end of the floor--made me Mike James" cringe every single time . . .

0-1. It can only go up from here, right?

by Aaron on Nov 2, 2006 12:28 PM EST reply actions

My thoughts...

What was up with that inadventertant whistle call, TJ Ford cleanly rips the ball from Jason Kidd, THEN a whistle is blown, the refs talk it over decide that the whistle was inadvertant and then give the ball back to Jersey, and nobody seemed to argue the call, what did I miss?

Bosh needs to get into shape quick, he looked awful last night. Couldn't hit a jumper, couldn't get past his man, turned the ball over, commited offensive fouls.

The Raptors will be a much better team once we get something from Bargnani, he got the size and the athleticism to be good, but he needs to calm down and let the game come to him, hopefully just opening night jitters. Anyone else curious why Sam Mitchell just has him hang around the 3 point line on offense, and throw up those quick shots. I know he can shoot but I would think that there would be better ways to take advantage of the mismatches he can create. Right now we're using him like a Raef Lafrenz.

TJ Ford played like he was trying to justify that contract, if he plays like that every night it'll be money well spent. Anyone else think he was just coasting through the preseason. I doubt I'll hear anyone calling for Calderon in the starting line up anytime soon.

That game would have been a lot closer if Garbajosa hit at least couple of his shots, Mo Pete too for that matter.

I am always amazed at how athletic vince carter is, he coasted his way to 25 and 10 without ever trying to impose his will on the game, he is a freak.

by Chris on Nov 2, 2006 12:54 PM EST reply actions

We'll see better games from the raps. I have an issue with this whole quota of shots thing. I thought that it was just media hype but sure enough there were the raptors shooting outside shots without any sign of a a rebounder underneath. The most fundamental rule of basketball shooting is " Don't shoot till you got someone on your team that can fight for an offensive rebound".
So it appears that all this crap about getting up 100 shots was for real. Who in their right mind would tell a bunch of players at any level, let alone pros to do that. That whole mind set promotes selfish, hurried and low percentage shooting. You don't have to be very bright to figure that out.

by Rt on Nov 2, 2006 1:28 PM EST reply actions

Mitchell's a nice guy, but I just don't think that he can coach. I have the feeling that his substitution was done randomly rather than planned. I'd like have seen more of Humphries, Jones and Calderon. TJ ford and Garbo looked good though. Finally, CV had a double-double last night, I sure hope Barnagni (I hope I spelt it correctly) won't makee us regret trading CV away.

by TJ on Nov 2, 2006 2:08 PM EST reply actions

I have to agree Aaron about Joey Graham.... totally useless...
Did you see RJ go up over Joey from behind and take that rebound away from him!?!
No one with the athleticism and size of Joey Graham should let that happen to them... and if it doesâ€¦. they should take it as an affront to the masculinity and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT... other than look confused, scared and dumbâ€¦

by d2 on Nov 2, 2006 2:53 PM EST reply actions

Further to my rant, running style basketball does not mean players can guage their shot selection by the clock. What it requires is good decision making especially by the ball handlers to recognize that during your high speed attack that the defence has gotten back and to go to your set transition to patterned offence, not simply take the first shot available because you're 11 seconds in the pocession. I saw Ford and others pulling that trick a number of times last nite. I just can't bring myself to believe that Sam is requiring that type of play.

by Rt on Nov 2, 2006 3:26 PM EST reply actions

As far as i can tell BC is the real coach. He brought over the decision to run and gun, he brought in the players that run and gun and he drafted Bargnani and acquired a younger Nash to fit that style of play. Mitchell is just following orders.

by Rubik Kube on Nov 2, 2006 3:36 PM EST reply actions

Great to see a NBA game last night. TJ was great last night. I loved the way Parker played. Bosh looked completed out of place. Would someone please tell Mo P. that he doesn't have to take a 3-pointer everytime. Those two guys killed us last night. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

by Jason on Nov 2, 2006 3:38 PM EST reply actions

Carter is a bum. I now have occasion to boo Marty York.

Mitchell is somewhere between a decent coach and absolutely terrible. He gets the guys motivated but he's always had no idea how to use players and allocate playing time. Remember the Hoffa debacle when he would start, play decently for four minuts, vanish, magically re-appear at the start of the second half for three more minutes, and never be seen again, regardless of how well (or not) he was playing.

Or the mis-use of Aaron Williams (was there really no minutes available for him at centre), bizarre usage of Joey Graham, etc., etc.

He seems like a decent enough guy, but unless something changes over the next 10 games he's gotta go.

by NeverNervousPervis on Nov 2, 2006 3:39 PM EST reply actions

In fairness to Mitchell, it was the first game of a season where he has like 2/3rds of the team being new. I don't think it's unreasonable for him not to have a set rotation yet.

by Matt, your friendly Bulls Blogger on Nov 2, 2006 3:54 PM EST reply actions

Joey Graham looked useless and Bosh was extremly rusty. Mo'Pete looked bad (both his game and his face) and the Raptors couldn't stop Vince (again,...remember his long three in Calderon's face and Mo'Pete getting ejected?). Well the Raptors at least showed flashes of being able to beat any team, hopefully it'll happen with time.

Marty York is an idiot. I always read his stuff in the free newspaper on my way to classes, his rumors are never right.

by Jason on Nov 2, 2006 5:15 PM EST reply actions

Send Joey to the D-league! It would probably be best for both player and team.

by dan on Nov 2, 2006 6:58 PM EST reply actions

CV did have a double-double, but he was 6-21! So let's not all hanging form nooses over the trade quite yet. I was a little cold on the trade at first , but watching ford play last night, I'm now feeling more than comfortable with it. The kid's got talent and will be a star PG. Nodoutaboutit.

It's going to take a while, and perhaps a new coach, but this team will eventually be good. In other NBA news, how about that Dwight Howard?

by LAs Only Raptor Fan on Nov 2, 2006 7:15 PM EST reply actions

last season , the excuse was the raptors line up was composed of young players. this time , i'm hearing the reason that coach's got new players . what's next ?

by nike on Nov 2, 2006 7:35 PM EST reply actions

I'd have to agree with Matt. Very few of Mitchell's new guys (not to mention the old ones) where playing the way they did in the preseason. This team is something of an unknown quantity for everyone at the moment.

Nice Blog - good to have real Raptor basketball talk without an excess of scarcasm, gossip and self promotion.

by D.E. on Nov 2, 2006 8:12 PM EST reply actions

I think it was just first game jitters, this year is going to be the best yet, i can feel it!

by VirkStar on Nov 2, 2006 9:09 PM EST reply actions

ONE GAME. It doesn't make a season. Still, I dropped Bargnani for Parker in my pool (will I regret that,? I doubt it, at least for the first two months of the season).

Agree that it looked a little like last year's team, especially right at the end of the half and the fourth quarter. However, we do have to remember that usually Bosh would score 25 and MoPete 20 and they'd still lose. This year, they were close without them contributing signficantly, and TJ looked like lightning out there in leading the (mis-firing) troops.

I'm certain Garbo will improve over the first game jitters with his shooting. Parker certainly erased doubts that he can play, if he goes 15-5-5 in the stat sheet I'll be happy with that. Pretty solid on 'D' too. Once AB learns to keep his fouls down he should be a solid contributor.

I'll be ready to exaluate this team with some accuracy after ten games, and I have a feeling they'll be better than the first impressions they gave last night when they've come together a little more and for many have gained some valuable NBA experience.

by Dave on Nov 2, 2006 10:52 PM EST reply actions

With the signing of Ford, it would be basically impossible to sign Carter in the first place.

by Acie on Nov 2, 2006 11:08 PM EST reply actions

Re the player rotations, remember that the 2nd unit played lg mins in the pre
with Bosh & TJ out. Now the starters will be playing more and the 2nd unit less.

This will require some adjustment from Sam & the players. The subs have to perform with energy & score as soon as they enter. It may take a few games to sort it out. Also the 2nd unit may change due to match ups.

Also 94 shots is great, but making only 37 + 7 Off rb leaves 50 rb for NJ & a fast break for them. With JKidd running it led to lots of easy baskets for NJ

Raps must shoot a higher % or take less shots or make more OF rbs or its going to be tough.

by Johnn19 on Nov 3, 2006 1:40 AM EST reply actions