What I Learned From The Playoffs

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on May 21, 2007 12:00 AM EDT in Feature Stories

It’s been a little over two weeks since the Raptors were eliminated from the playoffs.

For me, it actually feels like like about two months.

In those two weeks, I’ve been taking in some of the good, (the Warriors upset of the Mavs) the bad (the Robert Horry incident) and the ugly (the Nets-Cavs series) of the NBA’s playoffs and thinking back to Toronto’s first round loss to New Jersey.

What if that pass from Calderon had just been a bit higher?

What if Sam Mitchell (who sounds like he’ll be re-signed any day now) had made his Game 5 and Game 6 adjustments earlier in the series?

What if Chris Bosh...

You get the idea.

However beyond rehashing these thoughts, I’ve also realized that the NBA playoffs are indeed a different breed. It’s one thing to watch other teams go through this discovery year after year, but it’s entirely another when you see your team meet them head on for the first time.
In particular, here are a few things that I’m hoping the Raptors took away from their early exit:

1) Every possession counts: I’d always heard sideline reporters and colour commentators harp on this point year after year, but seeing Toronto lose a number of close games against New Jersey really drove it home. Bosh taking a 3-point jump shot off the break in game six, Humphries forcing the action underneath, Dixon missing a jumper in transition; these were just some examples of plays which the Raptors squandered opportunities for better looks. During the regular season teams go through lapses in intensity and therefore the opportunity to go on a run and reclaim the lead seems to be much more prevalent. Not so in the playoffs as the intensity is ratcheted up and a great example of this is the San Antonio Spurs, a team that almost never takes a possession off and can grind it out with the best of them.

2) You can’t rely strictly on jump shoting: As exciting as the Golden State Warriors were in their playoff run this year, their eventual elimination at the hands of the Utah Jazz showed just how important having an inside presence is in the NBA playoffs. Without an inside presence that could score around the rim, the Warriors were too dependent on their long-range jump shots and had no answer for Carlos Boozer’s tough post-game. In fact throughout the playoffs we’ve seen examples of how a team’s effective inside game can open things up for the outside gunners. Not to beat a dead horse but yes, this is something else that San Antonio is very good at doing - establish your interior play early and the outside will follow.
The Raptors saw this first hand as when CB4 struggled, Toronto became a jump shooting club and had a tough time getting any scoring from anyone other than their crafty point guards. Next year this is something that the Raptors will need to improve on and I’m hoping to see an improved offensive arsenal from inside players like Kris Humphries. If he can come into the game and get some baskets inside, it would really force the Raptors’ opponents to adjust and perhaps lessen the load on Bosh.
After all, even the Jordan led Bulls got some valuable inside play at times from the likes of Bill Cartwright and both MJ and Pippen had great back to the basket skills for guards.

3) If you can’t create, you stagnate:
This next point ties in with the previous one. Toronto’s ball movement and assist numbers were way down in the playoffs and this was partly due to Jersey coach Lawrence Frank’s defensive tactics, and partly due to the fact that Toronto really has few players who can create their own shot. This is something we’re hoping Bryan Colangelo attempts to fix this off-season because as we saw in the playoffs, the Raptors were too reliant on their point guards for offense. While both TJ and Jose can score, an athletic wing who can take players off the dribble would have been hugely beneficial both in terms of breaking down the Nets’ zone, and also helping the team’s motion offense.

4) Your stars need to play at the top of their game: The most disgusting thing about the Cavs/Nets series in my opinion wasn’t necessarily the lack of scoring, but the needless absence of it. Any team with Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson being fed by passes by Jason Kidd should be able to easily put up over 90 points a game regardless of their opponents’ defensive fortitude. However the team inexplicably settled for far too many jump shots and perhaps as no surprise to us Raptors fans, Vince Carter never really showed up. This year’s playoffs have been a lesson in stars who have (Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis) and have not (Carter, Bosh, Dirk) carried their teams in key moments and we’ve seen the results for the most part. Yes depth plays a role in the playoffs, but I think prior to their commencement I underestimated the value of star players and how important it is for them to lead their respective clubs. Toronto didn’t get enough of this from Chris Bosh, but I fully believe this will only serve to increase his hunger for a redemptive performance come next season.

5) Coaching: Once the Mitchell signing becomes official we’ll be discussing it at length here at the HQ but as a final point to this piece, part of Sam being asked to return is certainly predicated on his continued growth in the head coach role. This playoffs has provided countless examples of just how important coaching strategy is (see Dallas vs. Golden State for people’s exhibit A) and all of Raptornation will be watching with keen interest to see if Mitchell’s perceived "X and O" issues start to fade away. It was these issues that cause problems for the Raptors in round 1 against the Nets, but the key now will be if Sam can use the experience he gained to be more prepared for these situations next time around.

Which based on the team’s success this year I might add, will certainly be expected right from the drop of next fall’s tip-off, a tip-off that at present unfortunately feels like another decade away for us fans.

FRANCHISE

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Comments

To the list of "what if"s you seem to have forgotten one: What if Andrea Bargnani was healthy and in shape from game 1?
And how does his very presence affects your reasoning about Raps inside game?

I am not sure the raps would have lost game one once you add Andrea to the mix, on the other hand I am not sure Mitchell would have made him play 5 if Raptors performances in NJ were better.
Anyway if you cannot change history, you can for sure learn from it and what are the lessons yo can learn from game 6?

Lesson 1: Andrea can play 5 now. For sure he can get better on D, he has to , but, in relation to your argument, he has shown he can play low post and score shoulders to the bucket and if they play him with a big body he can take him out and dribble,shoot, pump fake and shoot, etc his way to score. and he can do during normal or clutch times.

Lesson two: If lesson one is true, he has to (and he can) become the first or the second offensive option with both:
-some plays designed for exploit his potential;
-having his team mates looking for him (unlike last season).

Having the defense focusing on Andrea will also allow Bosh some breathing space, not to mention you can have plays specifically designed to take advantage of Chris and Andrea simultaneous presence.

So, maybe your concerns are about a false problem.

I will finish with one thought in relation to an argument which has been debated a lot, although not on this perspective:

If Andrea becomes an offensive terminal, together with Bosh and with the possible addition of a SG this summer, athletic and possibly himself an offensive terminal, can we really afford to have a PG with Ford's characteristic or would not we better off giving Jose the job and having for playing the 6th man to change the rhythm, a la Vinny Johnson?

by renato on May 21, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

You forgot the most important one: Defense wins: Proven most convincingly ever this year. Offensively focused teams just can't go deep. Amazingly enough it was warriors that proved that. I've never seen more energy put into defense than their first round rout of dallas. But they're not really built for defense and petered out in the second round (while sloan proved himself a far better coach than avery). I hope Colangelo sees this and isn't trying build another suns. Not to belittle offense, but if you can't get some stops when you need them, you eventually lose.

by axl on May 21, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry, should have clarified - these were things that were driven home to me harder then ever before. Defense wins championships is something I've always noted, and actually, I didn't think the Raptors defense against the Nets was that bad with the exception of stopping the ball in transition.

And yes, Bargs looks like he'll be at the 5 next year, something Howland and I have already been discussing...a jump ball will be forthcoming on the topic to be certain...

by Franchise on May 21, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Looks like Smitch will come in @ $12M for 3 years, which was was $1M less than I had guessed! I think that really is the perfect contract -- not that it matters. The coach could get paid $100M, and for the purposes of being a fan, as long as it doesn't affect on court, it doesn't matter. In fact, with respects to cap and sports, since there isn't a cap on coaching and the such, that's really where MLSE should spend the majority of it's money. We SHOULD have the best scouts, trainers, and even towel boys in the league. If that's a place we can score a competitive advantage, so be it.

This playoffs really goes to show, that winning the NBA title is still the hardest thing to do in all pro-sports. I thought with the end to the Shaq era, we'd get a new one. I was wrong! In the last 25+ years, if you didn't have one of the handfull of players like: Shaq, MJ, Hakeem (only cause MJ took a break) Magic, Bird, Zeek, and of course Duncan or you're the Pistons you didn't win a championship. And it looks like a Duncan vs Pistons showdown will continue this streak.

by ustation on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Not to belittle your point about defense winning championships but the Suns failed to advance because Robert Horry hip checked Nash into the scorers table and two idiots from the suns got suspended in a critical game 5. I truly believe that the Spurs all took Robert Horry out after that game to the strip club of his choice and loaded him up with Lap dances. Forget for a second the debate about whether or not there should be some ability to use reason before handing out suspensions (its a moot point). The fact is everyone in the NBA knows that "you cannot leave the bench during any kind of incident" without getting slapped with a suspension. Diaw and Stoudemire both know this and even they were just reacting, the suspensions were deserved because by the letter of the rule you have to suspend them.
I find it ironic however that the NBA has showed discretion before. After all by the letter of the rules Mo Pete and Vince Carter should have been suspsended for their little joking slap fest but the NBA decided to let it slide. Obviously this creates a wonderful opportunity for the Sund to sue the NBA if they truly feel they were hurt by the decision (We all know they won't but I would like to see them use examples like the above to show bias). I also believe that had the suns had their two players for game 5 in phoenix this series might have turned out differently.

by McGateway on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I don't think the dream is dead quite yet.

I still think that the bogus horry/nash incident killed that series. and I'm not convinced the spurs would have won without it.

of course amare is a freak of nature, and we can't expect too many of those to come around, but I'm not convinced a big hulking C is the only way to go.

what I'm taking from this whole playoff experience this year, is that the game of basketball is in fact changing. people are trying different things and though it hasn't payed off just yet, I'm hopeful it will start to very soon. and even better is that I think the raps with andrea and bosh could be part of it. if not THE 'it'.

a 7 footer that can bang around down low, hit 3's with his eyes closed, and run the floor like a gazelle? along side a PF that can pretty much do the same?

when's the last time you've seen that?

by papa on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Interesting point Papa...was just reading Chad Ford's piece this morning on Greg Oden and I guess he's blowing GM's away in workouts because of his 2-guard like skills as a seven-footer. Apparently his ball handling skills in drills were only a BIT worse than Mike Conley Jr!

Anyone else rooting for the Celtics to get the third pick tonight?

by Franchise on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

franchise, in response to your question i'd posted this on realgm a few days ago...

not to be a punk but i could care less about the draft order or how stacked our conference may get. we play who we play. honestly, when we win a championship (some positive thinking) i would love for it to come with respect of the league and fans that know we did it from a difficult conference/ division rather than the titanic division.

a hard win would be way more satisfying especially cause people couldn't nag on us or say there's an asterisk to our championship. it would be like "no buddy **** you, look who we had to beat to get here."

by dileroscoe on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

papa - the suns losing partly convinced me. And I don't think they had a lock on the series even if the suspensions didn't happen.

But mostly it was the fact that the suns had to change the way they play and were really hooped defensively without Thomas and marion on the floor. You need solid defenders at all five positions. Their regular season ways of giving up baskets in order to get their own quick scores just didn't work. Nash knew it going in and they adjusted admirably. I was cheering for them to win, but they need better D all around.

Looking at the warriors and Sloan saying they "forgot about boozer" game three or game four I think is good evidence too. If there's a guy or three that pretty much can't be stopped, that's a problem.

by axl on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

dileroscoe - Yep, I agree with you. Having a tough division that the Raptors would have to battle to get out of would definitely make one proud as a fan. It might also set up some great future rivalries. However I'm rooting against the Celtics getting a top 2 pick because a) I don't think their management DESERVES one and b) I'd like to see Sports Guy's reaction tomorrow ha ha.

PS - I'm secretly rooting for Minny to get top spot so KG can get some much-needed help.

by Franchise on May 22, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions