Tip-In: Wake-up Call

Our starters let us down, hands down, simple as that. No excuses. The last thing I want to see with this team is a descent back into complacency. It's obvious Bosh was crowded and suffocated all night - the Nets did their work - we didn't and that's the bottom line. This is what makes the loss more frustrating than disheartening. The Raptors defence was weak all night - off screens, switches, defensive rebounds. All in all, short of killer instinct. Interestingly enough, if there was a game that the Raptors were in danger of losing in this 3 game skid it was this one. If the Raps fall to the Bucks and god-forbid to Boston, I'll puke. Like Franchise said: WAKE UP!!

I don't understand why Mitchells rotation when it comes to Graham. Joey didjn't have a great start last night but he was ok in the 1st half. Certainly no worse then most of the Raps. Yet in the 2nd Mitchell goes with Jones. Why? Jones continues to give you nothing either on d or o.

Graham seems to be Sams whipping boy. I'm wondering if he is seriously hampering Grahams development. A guy needs a little leeway to be able to develop a comfort zone but it seems Sam has 0 patience with Joey.

Big loss for the Raps. The Nets came out with a playoff-like defensive intensity and our Toronto Boys folded. Yes, there was that run in the 2nd quarter, but once New Jersey trades for some bench help, that will be smoothed over.

Raptors are certainly better than last year, but they are a far cry from a real playoff contender. Hopefully this game will end all the silly playoff talk and we can start looking forward to next year's AMAZING draft.

you can almost already see the flock of boo birds coming over the horizon, ready to set up shop in the bleachers at the ACC.

last night was by far the most angry I've been watching any game this season. and that comment Sam made about them not staying at the trump hotel next time made it even worse.

these guys are rocking trump style and they come out and play like that? yeah, their lives are a little different than mine.

That game had to be the most painful 48 minutes of Raptors ball I have seen this season. When CB4 and Ford can't make open shots, you know you're in for a long night. The only bright spots coming from Calderon and Bargs, but they can't win the game by themselves.

I have to give the Nets defense credit though, they were a nightmare for Bosh all night, and they were effective in containing Calderon and Bargs in the 2nd half.

And what happened to Fred Jones, it looks like he doesn't even try anymore. I was excited when he joined the team, but now I think the Raps should give him away. I'm not impressed by his lack of effort.

And is anyone else getting fed up with all of the travelling calls? How many were there last night, like 10? Some of the ones they called on Bargnani were very questionable.

Papa - heard that comment too from Mitchell. That made my stomach churn even more...next time have them stay at the "Come On In Motel" if it gets them to play with any aggression. Maybe Bargnani, Peterson and Calderon stayed in the basement though as they were the only ones to show up.

Yeah, something I didn't touch on but man, EVERY head and ball-fake last night resulted in a travelling call...besides the terrible shooting, Toronto turned the ball over way too much, and many of these turnovers were the result of travel calls. The Raps just didn't look like they were ready to play at all.

Also - interesting comment on Fred Jones. I was happy to see him in the game actually because the rest of the team was struggling. I was hoping he'd start trying to take it to the rim as Toronto wasn't even THINKING about getting foul calls at that point.

I remember Jones fouling Carter once...then, I don't even remember him subbing back out...

End of story

New Jersey trading for bench help will only happen if they give up someone good (Carter?) because they don't have the cap space to do otherwise.

The Nets might win the Titanic division by default but I think their run is over. It's time for that team to be rebuilt. Carter isn't the toughest player going, Jefferson is injured, and Kidd has a bad back and personal problems to deal with.

Dan is right about Joey Graham. Sam should let him play through his mistakes and teach him to be more aggressive. Imagine Vince going for a dunk and getting a hard foul from Graham. Yeah!

Although Sam seems to be improving as a coach I think he deserves the blame for this game. You knew CB4 was going to get double teamed and if the outside shots ain't falling you need to take it inside. Maybe he's telling the team to do that and they aren't listening. Then that's the time to bench some players and go to the new "depth" that the Raps have.

Finally, why are so many Rap's fans looking forward to the draft? Another rookie on such a young team? Blech. Who is so great coming out of the draft that could solve the Rap's rebounding and slashing to the hoop problems? We won't get near Ogden or Durant and any new rookie on the team would have to be the new MJ to get meaningful minutes.

I say the Raps squeak into the playoffs at the number 8 spot and get bounced unfortunately by Detroit in 5 games.

Couple of random comments:

You think if he were not making 16M/per but rather minimum wage Vince would still play basketball for a living. I think D-Wade would, along with Bosh, they love the game. Vince wouldn't.

We needed more Joey last night. He was ok in the first half and likes to match-up against Vince (push him around a little). He was also doing a solid job on the glass.

When Bargnani hit this fourth three you could see Jim Todd dying in laughter on the bench...clearly thinking "Can you believe this guy!"

I don't this loss was nearly as bad as it seems. We're on their court, vince was active, and they played the "let anybody but bosh beat us" game and it panned out for them.

The defense wasn't that bad considering Mitchell tried to run with the nets, it's just that we couldn't convert enough stops into points in the third. Speaking of which, who would have thought tj would suck that bad? If he had made 4 or 5 of his seven shots, of which almost all looked good, this would have been a close game. Not to mention Bosh. Just shoot it and take your chances, man, you're our best jump shooter! What fantastic D by the nets in the first quarter, but we came back from that and ended up getting beat by their running game. All-in-all a much-needed reality check after stealing one from washington.

For those that can remember, this game was disturbingly reminiscent of the Raps 1st ever playoff game against the Knicks. In that one (actually the whole series), the supporting guys all showed up but the Raps ultimately lost because Vince crapped the bed bigtime (something like 3 for 25 in game 1). The Raptors were in every game in that series, but when it was time for Vince to take over, he didn't.

I bring this up because the way Vince played in that series reminded me of how Bosh and Ford played last night. It wasn't that the effort wasn't there...it's that they choked...plain and simple. The other supporting guys did their job, but if your two main guys don't make plays, it doesn't matter what team you are or who's coaching it, you're gonna lose.

Bosh got it going a little at the end of this one, which was encouraging...but TJ, that's about as bad as a point guard can play. My only hope is that he can get over it relatively quickly in this team's next big game.

It's regular season, I know, but this was still likely the biggest game of Bosh's and TJ's NBA career. Less so for TJ because the Bucks were in playoff games, but even in those, he wasn't the leader...he was a support guy. Sure Bosh played in the World Championships, but he was just a small piece on that team. This is the first time these 2 have been expected to lead in a big game. The fact that they failed miserably is discouraging, but at least they've had the experience.

Remember, Vince was brutal in that whole first series against the Knicks, and it wasn't until the second half of game 2 against the Knicks the following season that Vince finally got over his jitters. Hopefully TJ and Bosh will respond better than Vince did.

it wasn't the loss that hurt, it was how we lost. something I saw last night that I didn't particularly like either was how ford kept going to bosh, even though he knew he was getting killed by the double and triple teams. he really didn't adapt, or look to get any of the other players involved by moving the ball around, or slashing himself. which I guess speaks to your point franchise about how maybe he's still limping around a bit with the ankle.
I thought when bosh was out with the injury, that this team had learned how to play team ball. old habits die hard, I guess.
it's obviously only one game, but I sure hope the 'throw it into bosh and hope for the best' kind of game isn't going to make a comeback.

Wow! that was agonizing to say the leaset??! Is it just me or does it seem that Sam kinda gets into the habit of leaving certain guys in "hoping" they are going to "snap" into it?? Your observations above are correct, why stay in the posh palace?? You are there to play ball stop living at the ritz and play some ball!! there was a shot of CB4 coming out of a timeout in the 4th and it looked like Chris had spent the timeout sleeping! Where was the guy from Sunday?? Jason Collins and Mikie Moore made our franchise look like he couldn't do anything. As for Carter, why wouldn't you go and absolutely beat the livin crap out of him with Slokar, or Chris Humphries, which as we all know he hates! I am loving their new style of game, but it is games like that, that make you wonder if they are seeing the same picture we are?? They better win tonight...I'm out.

From the local Jersey papers today:

"Because here’s what people don’t usually understand: To the fans, and to some media people, Vince has cachet. But to basketball people, his reputation isn’t close to matching the public perception."

I always wonder if the US media (Sportsguy aside) know who the true Vince is so I find it interesting to see quotes like this.

Fresh1 - something I didn't touch on in the recap was that I too felt like Mitchell left some guys in too long (TJ to start the third quarter) and wondered why we didn't see Humphries or Graham banging away at Carter.

The people who were calling the overconfidence crap yesterday should be saying I told you so. The fact is, the raps got a crappy start to the game, didn't take the Nets seriously, and apparently the starters never did, just the bench.

ESPN ranked the raps what, 16th this week in their Power Rankings? It was based on Bosh's return against the Wizards, but I'm not really sure it was Bosh or Ford on the court, just some crappy playground ballers who could double for 'em.

That, or the Nets were upset that NJ was blamed for that stink earlier in the day. :P

One thing's for sure, you'd expect the Raps to come out strong tonight against the Bucks.

Yo Todd, please spell "Oden" correctly, because this guy is the next great centre.

In terms of the draft, this has the chance to be one of the best ever. The Raps need some athleticism (Graham and Jones are useless on the wing) and there are some potential stars coming out including: Thaddeus Young, Nick Young, Marcus Williams, Rudy Fernandez and Julian Wright. If the Raps finish in the 10-12 pick range (which sounds about right) everyone on this list except for Wright should be ripe for the taking because there are also some excellent PF and PG prospects.

I know that always looking ahead to the draft gets a little boring but, let's be honest, the Raptors in their current form will never be a legitimate contender. We need a star (Bosh is a contributor, but will never hit clutch shots all year long like real superstars). In the NBA 1 or 2 players can make all the difference and the best route to get them is the draft.

I'm just trying to be realistic by saying that the Raptors are still 3 years away from finishing in the top four in the crappy Eastern conferenece and we need more guys who will not let the team tank like they did last night.

I am a fan, but I refuse to believe my local team is good just because they are 15-20 and that is better than the last 2-3 years.

Aaron, my bad on the spelling of Oden. The draft and getting a good pick is only one way to build a team.

The Raptors are on the poor cousin side of the NBA payroll shouldn't they pony up to get a free agent or two who will address their problem areas? Defense, slashing to the hoop, and rebounding? Look how Chicago wooed Big Ben away from Detroit.

A couple of vets with some toughness who can show the youngsters how to win and get physical if they have to would be great. AP, Rasho and Jorge are good pickups but almost too nice sometimes. I mean someone who isn't afraid to kick some ass now and then, (i.e. Jerry Stackhouse, although he is past his prime) Know anybody who fits the bill and ISN'T locker room poison?

Plus I always wince whenever I hear others (not you) talk about tanking the seaon to get a good draft pick. It breeds a losing culture, a non stat factor that is always underrated in putting together a winning team and the balls can always bounce the wrong way.

PS Remember this team hasn't even played one season together.

Here's my disapointment, not that the Raps lose, and not that the starters went down 0-15. It's that the bigs couldn't school Mikki Moore, and Bostjan Nachbar.

Credit to Larry Frank and co., great game plan. Double to Bosh every time he touches. And when Jose was the only one carrying the team on his back, 3 TOs later NJ went to Zone +1.

And Toronto is dangerous (to themselves) when they become a "J" shooting team.

I think the standard game plan now against the Raps are: mix in a heavy pressure (Full Court Press/HC high Traps), get the double on Bosh as early as possible before he get's the pass, or first move, and zone.

I would have liked to have seen Jose and TJ on the court at the same time after they initiated the zone in the 3rd and play very small ball. JC @ guard, TJ @ SG, MP & AP @ F, and Bosh @C / and then play 3-2 zone. Mikki Moore wasn't "killing us" inside, and Nachbar was a 3point shooter.

I think for last night, Smitch was not necessarily big problem (obviously the starters were), but he was out coached.

JKidd dominated TJ on D, but couldn't hang with Jose. I would have liked to have seen what TJ could have done on Eddie House/Vince.

First of all, put away your pipe dreams of getting Oden - a team can't get the #1 pick two years in a row.

Second of all, Humphries on Carter? Bwahaha - the way Carter was playing he would have posterized Humphries bigtime. Graham? Parker and Peterson are our best swing defenders, and Graham has a tendency to take possessions off. Carter would have destroyed him. And did someone mention Slokar? C'mon. Do you guys even watch basketball?

Seriously, I know hindsight is 20/20, but the reason we weren't competitive has nothing to do with Smitch's rotation of our 8th, 10th and 12th best players. Bosh and TJ played like garbage - we will lose to every team in the league when they play like that, end of story. When they're at their best we can beat any team in the league. Hopefully they'll be back in form tonight.

Well, I guess I am bowing to the sad truth that free agents to not want to come to the Raptors because of their history of mismanagement--maybe that will change will Colangelo, but it's yet to be seen.

If you look at the free agents after this 2006-07 season at SG/SF it's pretty sad (Vince Carter, Gerald Wallace-has a team option, Eddie Jones, Ruben Patterson, Desmond Mason, Jalen Rose, Grant Hill, Michael Finley, Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse, Bonzi Wells-has an option). Granted there are some solid players here, but none that will make the impact the Raps need for a mere $3-4 million per season (what a draft pick in the 10-12 costs).

Todd, I agree fully that tanking is never an option for a professional sports franchise, I am merely trying to suggest that if the Raps go 32-50 this year and get a nice slashing small forward than the season will not be a disappointment. Fans in Toronto seem to living and dying with each Raps loss right now and I think that is unwarranted--they aren't that good and they won't be for a few more seasons.

This team is headed in the right direction, but making the playoffs in a top-4 spot is still way off and I would still like to build through the draft.

Aaron,

You're right about the free agent field being thin and you always have to take into account the "I don't like Canada" factor.

The Raps suffer from a lack of interior toughness. I'm not talking about flagrant fouls but can you imagine Vince going into the lane if someone like Charles Oakley was protecting the paint?

The additions that BC made to the team this year laid the foundation but he needs the slashing forward to shore up the scoring options and an enforcer/ rebounder/ shot blocker with sharp elbows who plays hard nosed defense.

Oh yeah. Sam has definitely improved as a coach but he still needs work on the X's and O's and reacting to the other coaches moves and subsitutions. Even money that he is NOT coming back next year.

Raptors 90 Bucks 77
The starters came to play
Bosh 30pts 8rb 6blks
Ford 15pts 10ast
Parker 18pts 6rb
Defense won the game

Bogut is a monster 17pts 18rb