Pre-Season Cracks or Regular Season Concerns?

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT in HQ International

"We're searching...we have to find guys who'll get in there and do the tough things.

"We've got guys who can shoot the basketball, we have guys who can pass the ball, we have to find guys who'll go in there and do the dirty work, play that physical role for us."

Hearing Raptors coach Sam Mitchell utter these words after last night’s 104 to 103 loss to Real Madrid has to be a bit disconcerting to Raptors fans.

Last year, one of the Raptors main weaknesses beside defensive lapses, was rebounding, particularly of the offensive variety, and well, last night’s effort on the glass was downright offensive indeed.

Toronto was out-rebounded by Real Madrid 52 to 38 and between the board work and Real Madrid’s 50 per cent shooting from beyond the arc, the Raptors just didn’t get the job done.

In the post-game press conference, I asked Mitchell why if the team was having trouble on the glass, he didn’t try Maceo Baston?

His answer?

"We’ve got 16 guys and you can’t play them all. That’s what the pre-season is for, trying different guys and lineups to get something that works."

Hmmm...not exactly what you’d call answering my question.

In fact, his answer scared me even more than if he had said something like "well, Maseo’s been hurt so we just didn’t have him available."

Because by saying that he and the staff are looking for a solution and didn’t even attempt to give Maceo some minutes, what does that say about their faith in Baston or how he’s played in practice? Was this signing a total waste of money?

And how about Toronto’s other signing this off-season, the bigger of the two, Jason Kapono? Through the first few games Kapono has looked decent at best and was borderline terrible last night. What worries me is that last night’s game is the sort he should excel in, not shoot three for 10 and foul out in! Kap-One is looking to be a large defensive liability and if he’s going to be detrimental to the Raptors at one end of the court, he’s gotta compensate by hitting his shots at the other.

As well, Anthony Parker looked a shadow of his former self last night and if Louis Bullock and Charles Smith are lighting him up like that, anyone else worried about facing Paul Pierce and Ray Allen?

Finally on the wings front, Carlos Delfino and Joey Graham weren’t much better than any of the other options but at least Joey looked like he was trying to take it to the rim. In fact, besides one big blown defensive assignment, Luke Jackson looked just as capable as any of Toronto’s other options.

And I guess this brings me to my main concern going into the season.

THIS TEAM REALLY NEEDS CHRIS BOSH AT 100 PER CENT.

That might seem like an obvious statement but watching the game last night up close, made me think about this team’s construction and just how integral to its success CB4 is.

In the transcript of Bryan Colangelo’s interview with the media, you’ll remember he talked about not upgrading on the rebounding and defensive ends this off-season, but getting the best shooters he could so that more shots made would mean less rebounds to corral. I know it’s only one game, and preseason at that, but without Bosh, the team with the exception of TJ Ford and occasionally Andrea Bargnani, relied purely on jump shots for their baskets.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid mixed it up and when their outside shots started hitting iron, they ran back-door cuts (something Toronto failed to defend all night) or got the ball down low to big men Hervelle, Sekulic and Papadopoulos who bullied their way to the cup. Without Bosh’s inside presence, the open looks just weren’t there and when Toronto did get open shots, they just couldn’t knock them down consistently leading to rebounds, which, yes, Real Madrid snapped up time and time again. Andrea Bargnani was the Dyno’s leading rebounder with seven, but his play last night at both ends was inconsistent and I still think he’s a good year away from being ready to take that next step as a player.

So you’ve gotta wonder, if Bosh misses too many games, how is Toronto going to be effective offensively? We just don’t have the athletes who can get to the rim unless Joey Graham finally figures things out or we see some more aggression out of Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker. The whole plan this year was to spread the court and allow Bosh to go to work. If he was double-teamed, he’d have plenty of options outside to pass to.

That’s great if Bosh is playing, or if the outside players are knocking down shots. Last night, neither happened and as a result, the offense just kind of stood around. Had it not been for some excellent play by TJ Ford in the first half (who does look very prepared for this season as an aside), the Raptors wouldn’t have been able to get out to the lead they did. I also believe this is why TJ forces the issue at times. Toronto had a chance to steal the lead back in the game’s closing seconds but TJ tried to do too much resulting in a Real steal and foul shots at the other end to essentially seal the deal. But can you blame TJ when he and Andrea seemed to be the only ones last night who could create anything off the dribble?

I can’t.

And I also can’t quite understand why Juan Dixon only got four minutes of playing time considering the ineffectiveness of the Raptors’ other guards. Having a lot of depth is never a bad thing, but just like last season, I think it’s going to take some time for Sam Mitchell to figure out his rotation and I’m not expecting a gangbuster start to the season until they figure out to do with all these bodies.

But last night’s game wasn’t all negative. The Raptor, who was on hand, was a huge hit (he even signed some autographs for kids) and the team concluded what was an overall very successful Euro-tour. Most importantly perhaps is the bonding this team must have undergone while overseas and this should pay dividends during the tough times this upcoming season.

For me personally, having media access to yesterday’s games was an amazing experience and a big thank you goes out to the Raptors organization from all of us here at the HQ.

It’s only pre-season, and the Raptors can now start to test their mettle against some NBA teams back in North America after this Wednesday’s game against Zalgiris Kaunas at the ACC. This should give the team a better feel for some of the opposition they’ll be facing as a week from today kicks off what promises to be some solid pre-season tests in the form of Chicago, Cleveland and Washington respectively.

I for one will be looking forward to the confines of the ACC although after taking in last night’s match, I’m praying that Herbie wasn’t watching for public announcer ideas.

Otherwise instead of "uno, dos, tres!" we may be hearing TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPLE! after each three-pointer made...

FRANCHISE

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Comments

Last night's performance was a little unnerving. Also, I was troubled by BC’s ‘better shooters equals less rebounds’ comments. Uh Brian, better shooters don’t get you defensive rebounds and that was a glaring issue last night. In fact, I’ll flip BC’s logic, ‘with no rebounders, you can’t get the ball to your shooters'! I am also somewhat troubled by the Kapono signing. While his shooting will definitely spread the floor etc. when he is on, what happens in games – such as last night – where he doesn’t shoot well? He does absolutely NOTHING else and is a defensive liability. This puts stress on the team to cover up for him, which in turns leads to more offensive rebounds as everyone is left out of position. Therefore, I believe we may have overspent on Kapono. Perfect example is Dell Curry. Arguably the best pure shooter to wear a Raptor's uni... did he ever get close to the money Kapono is getting when he was with the Raps (even taking NBA contract dollar inflation into account)? Don’t get me wrong, the ship ain’t sinking… but this team does have its weaknesses.

by Chris Childs on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

If any centrepiece player is not playing, his team will have major problems, especially a front-court player that attracts the defence (see: Pau and the Grizz last year). The fact the Raps lost only by 1 to the best Spanish League team without their best player isn't the end of the world.

The Raps were 7-1 in last year's pre-season and then 2-8 to start the season. I don't have rose coloured glasses but I don't think all our 2/3s will stink in perpetuity just because they were collectively weak in Europe.

And I don't know if a Reggie Evans or a Magloire would have been a better signing. BC is obviously enamoured with a run-and-gun type offence. The Suns could have well gone on to win the NBA Championship with such an offence if not for the Diaw/Amare suspensions.

by jjdynomite on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

This whole Euro tour was a goodwill thing, not too worried about the results. Personnally I feel out of respect for the two Euroteams we played, Sam went with the closest thing to our starting lineup.More of the fringe players got in on the Celtics game.
As stated above they were 7-1 last year in preseason, and came out crawling at beginning of year.
With all the media hoopla surrounding this tour, I think training camp now starts to get serious. Baston, from what I saw from a previous game, did not yet look comfortable in our system, perhaps a few more practices at home will help him get more comfortable. I guarantee you Sam is anxious to get home.
With all the available bodies, there will be some games where minutes will be difficult to obtain for the Baton's, Jackson's even the Dixon's and the Graham's. That's Sam's dilema and why he got the big bucks. I think after every game we could question why this guy didn't play or why he only got spot minutes.

by Tinman on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I'm going with pre-season cracks.

You're right they need cb4, but I personally put zero stock into these games. They looked dog tired, they couldn't get up to to dunk and contest and when you're tired, shooting accuracy drops off. I didn't really question the rotation because I think sam was playing his regular rotation players to try to get them into rythym, rather than scramble for someone to come in and win the game.

Things going against them:
-end of a long, super busy trip
-jet lag
-Hung over
-two-a-days
-no cb4
-not the home team
-real madrid is pretty good, super motivated and in championship form

That said, it was an incredibly frustrating game to watch, with bargnani and tj looking like the only only two who didn't enjoy jose's feast a little too much. When jose went into humphries four times in a row for one basket... ugh.

by axl on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I tend to think the guys were just worn out by their extended stay in europe. Let's give it a few more games before pushing the panic button

by Sorael on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Hey Franchise,
I guess you're on your way back. But I kind of have an opposite feeling, for a few reasons mainly. For one, AP had a really bad pre season last year, and it wasn't until the 2nd week of the season that he started to emerge. It's nothing new, and Maurizio talked about it last year as well that it's a pattern of his. Another thing is that Kapono had a lot of open shots, and for whatever reason, he wasn't making a bunch of them in the game. I'm sure he'll rebound as he has in his career.

Finally, I'm still not entirely convinced that Mitchell trusts his bench as much as the rest of us do. The fact is, if Bosh doesn't go down with that injury last year, I don't think the Raptors make it to the 35 win mark. It was because Bosh went down that Mitchell was forced to play deeper and people started to find their roles on the team. I'm sure at this point, Mitchell doesn't know or "trust" Baston enough to throw him in there. He'd rather put in Kris Humphries cause he's a known commodity. Likewise, he doesn't seem to quite rely on Delfino like I think he should be able to, so I hope, with the rest of the preseason ahead, that he remembers the abilities of others on the team that might compliment certain situations better. I've always thought that Mitchell is a good coach who keeps consistent substitutions, but he's horrible at substituting for situational cases. It's something he's still gotta improve on as seen in the Madrid game. (Especially with how Ford played in the 2nd half)

by Kinnon Yee on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Hi everyone, I am very pleased with what I saw of the Toronto Raptors, they only lost by 1 thanks to TJ and everyone who is always on TJ, remember you can always count on him at the end of game to come thru for the Raps. What I find was that Garbo played very well but Jose was not able to play very well in the excitgement of playing in their country but I like what I saw... GO RAPS

by Marcia on Oct 13, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

pre-season cracks, for sure. There's not chemistry, no rhythm, and for some, no incentive in the pre-season. Wait until the regular season tips off before the freak out.

by dinosty on Oct 13, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

You know I think these losses are good for the team and Sam. It doesn't make them overconfident and allows them to get an assesment of their weakness and strengths.

Bonding, Being healthy and working out and ironing the kinks is all I wanted from this trip.

It's good for them to get into this hype and then calm down and get back to business. A close loss like that in that atmosphere can only be positive in my eyes..

peace

by Grounded on Oct 13, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

You know I think these losses are good for the team and Sam. It doesn't make them overconfident and allows them to get an assesment of their weakness and strengths.

Bonding, Being healthy and working out and ironing the kinks is all I wanted from this trip.

It's good for them to get into this hype and then calm down and get back to business. A close loss like that in that atmosphere can only be positive in my eyes..

peace

by Grounded on Oct 13, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Expectations of Jason Kapono seem to have regressed back to when he was originally signed, which is probably fair. 6 mil a year doesn't guarantee a starting spot in the NBA and I think we need to evaluate his game for what it is and not for the money it required to bring in a free agent who has the potential to be an outstanding niche player. Or hopefully more.
Regarding the rebounding deficiancies the Raptors showed, it may be a real opportunity for Joey to finally establsh a consistent role in the rotation.

by pudhuu on Oct 14, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Pudhuu said "Regarding the rebounding deficiancies the Raptors showed, it may be a real opportunity for Joey to finally establsh a consistent role in the rotation"

or they may find Kris Humphries getting their time.Which would be ok with Me I love his work ethic even thou He does not play the same position

by Davl on Oct 14, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I love the Raptors, but I'm on a disability pension. I wish you folk had a pre-season game, like the leafs where you handed out tickets, my son and his partner would make sure I got the tickets. I don't need a special chair or anything just an ordinary seat will do.

by Kathy Hoeldke on Sep 24, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions