Tip-In, Toronto Raptors’ Post-Game: A Budding Rivalry?

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT

So far so good for Brand and the Clips...um...76ers...

Usually preseason is pretty blasé.

Sloppy, turnover-prone, and lacking star power.

And while this afternoon’s match between Philly and Toronto won’t be on NBA Classics any time soon, I found it surprisingly competitive.

Both teams got their mitts on loose balls by diving on the floor, both teams dug in defensively for the most part they combined for 20 steals and 12 blocks, and both teams complained about bad calls as much as possible.

In fact, after watching this afternoon’s game I got thinking "forget the Celtics, bring on the 76ers!"

I’d love some feedback here but is anyone else excited to see these teams go toe-to-toe during the regular season? While I doubt it will be a Suns-Mavs match circa 2006, both clubs match-up well on various levels and defensively, it could be a battle every time they take the court.

So who has the advantage?

Unfortunately right now I say Philly, and it’s all because of the bench.

The Raptors’ starters looked pretty good on the afternoon. While they didn’t shoot well, the trio of Bosh, O’Neal and Moon represent a formidable rebounding force for opposing clubs and in fact, those three accounted for 21 of the 37 rebounds against Philly. Add in the fact that Jose had an efficient nine points and four assists to go with two steals in 24 minutes, and Anthony Parker, while only hitting on two of his eight shots, did a good job on D with four steals, and it was pretty clear who the tone setters were on Sunday.

However the bench was another story.

Yes, they made some nice plays at times and scored in a fairly efficient manner, but defensively things looked pretty grim. On numerous occasions Toronto got stuck trapping too high on screen-and-rolls resulting in open dunks by the Philly bigs under the basket, as their defenders were still stuck out on the perimeter.

As well, the rebounding effort just wasn’t there.

Andrea in particular made me shake my head at times as he had one rebound in 26 minutes, a simply unacceptable stat even for preseason play. On two separate occasions, Bargs simply let his man overpower him to grab a rebound and we’re not talking Reggie Evans type overpowering here; it was more like "sorry about getting in your way for that board, here you go Mr. Miller!" That type of effort can’t happen come October 31st and the entire bench is going to have to step things up.

Here are a few other notes regarding bench players who bear watching over the next few games:

-Will Solomon. Solomon is starting to look more and more like the second coming of Rafer Alston to me unfortunately. I appreciate the scoring and change in pace from Jose, but the kid has 12 turnovers in three games! He also isn’t gun shy in the least bit and at times, you have to question the shot selection. On one play in particular today, the Raptors got an extra possession courtesy of some dirty work in the paint by Hump, and as soon as Solomon got the ball back at the top of the key with the new shot clock, he fired it up again. That sort of decision making isn’t what Bryan Colangelo brought Solomon here for yet with Roko seemingly reduced to a 12th man role lately (he failed to play a minute today), there might not be many other options.

-Hassan Adams. The more I see Adams, the more I wonder just how much he’ll play this year. Right now the starters and bench seem a bit unbalanced, especially on the offensive end, and Adams’ "brickmanship" isn’t exactly the answer. Instead, I think Sam will call on Hassan at key moments; perhaps for stops or rebounding, but only when the Raptors are leading on the scoreboard and don’t need an offensive factor to make up ground.

-Jason Kapono. I’m going to be particularly hard on Sam this year concerning Kap-One because frankly, through three games, he’s still not being used correctly or getting enough looks. He played a solid 28 minutes today but considering how lights out his shooting is, he hit six of his 10 shots, Toronto HAS to start understanding what a deadly weapon they have. He’s basically a guarantee to hit at least one of every two shots he takes and we’re not talking about dunks. So it still blows my mind that the Raptors focus on running pick and roll plays with guys like Solomon and Hump, when Kapono is on the court. Get this guy some open looks! However on the down side, Kapono is just not a defender, and today’s match was a great example. Players like Louis Williams and Andre Iguodala went by him at will and he struggled to contain even some of the 76ers slower players. The bottom line here is that Mitchell needs to figure out a better way to get the benefits of Kap-One without incurring all the costs.

Outside of the Raptors, I have to say that Philly, even at a distance and in preseason, looks pretty good. Brand looks in double-double form again, the team is still running and pressuring, and the club has great balance from 1 through 12. And as much as I hate to admit it, Marreese Speights looks like he could be a real factor off the pine for this club if he stays focussed.

Up next for Toronto is CSKA Moscow, another interesting challenge. We’ll be talking more about this game on Tuesday morning but don’t expect this one to look much like preseason. Trajon Langdon and co. will be out for the kill and hopefully Raps don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this is "just another preseason game."

A little dose of sudden competitive grit might be just what the doctor ordered before the regular season begins.

FRANCHISE

Tweet Comment 15 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

The good news from today's game was that our starters outplayed theirs. It seemed like Sam had all our starters in for the 1st and 3rd quarters getting used to playing with eachother. They were all plus in their +/- rating so that bodes well. When Sam did go to the bench, it seemed they mostly played with all 5 bench guys. In the season our bench will be much shorter. Guys like Kapono, Bargs and Salomon are all guys that will benefit from having a few starters out there with them. So with that, overall I am still very excited about this team.

That said, and I don't know why but, I fail to have confidence in Smitch. This team seems to have been tailored to his coaching style but with Sam it alwyas feels like he is forcing a square peg. He always seems to find the biggest flaw in a players game and demand that they improve it - which is a big part of his job. But his job is also to find out what his players do well and put them in a position to succeed. I have bitched and moaned about Sam for a while now, and it is too early to start again, but I just can't shake the feeling. It still feels like he isn't the guy BC wants. The Raps success depends on Sam having success so I am pulling for him, but I hope BC has a back up plan up his sleeve.

by Robert Archibald on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Decent game today, JO looked rusty and their wings just have too much athleticism for us. I'm a huge Bargs apologist, but today I saw too much of the same old same old. Three or four possessions in a row he just stood around at the 3pt line doing nothing. He also looked far too disinterested in (a) boxing out (b) making an effort to avoid being boxed out and (c) posting up. Old habits die hard I guess, but for every positive sign he shows, he also does something that makes both me and The Smitch go ballistic.

by RaptorsAddict on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

bargs looked awful - He was out of position defensively the entire game (doesn't he know he's a center yet?). His reaction time when the ball popped loose (because of his good defence though) and rolled around his feet. He was just too slow and his man picked it up and went straight in for a dunk. ouch.

I think if smitch had reinserted any one of the starters, it could have been a win, but it didn't seem like anyone cared whatsoever.

Good thing there was defense because we missed a ton of easy shots as well.

I think our starters looked great, even shying away from contact, they scored easily.

by axl on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah Our bench looks worrisome. Wish we had some delfino already lol

by Sho on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sho - im missing count chocula too. Any one else find this team to be kinda weird? Almost the opposite of lastyear in fact? I think our starters are going to have to do some major damage early in games or play heavy minutes. But again, like franchise was saying, its only preseason.

by fromlongrange on Oct 12, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

You know, Bargs sure is the easy scapegoat. Missed some rebound opportunities, yeah. OK! We drop a game and its "Off with his head".

Training camp is only beginning, but so far he has had a decent start. He shot 50% and kept his fouls down. On offence it seems he can get a good look whenever he wants.
Bosh played 22 minutes, O'Neal 25. Combined they shot 4 for 14(only 14 shots?). Throw in AP's 2 for 8 and Humphries 1 for 5. Did I mention Jose played 24 minutes.

Iggy played 32, Brand 28 and Reggie Evans always freaken kills us on the glass.

by Tinman on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I told you Will Solomon was going to be maddening :p I knew it the moment we saw him at the bar the other day. I just don't know what to say about him.

I think though, that the Raptors starters are better than Philly's. There's just something about AI and the rest of them that is kinda shakey. I think until they can cut down on turnovers in the regular season, the 76ers are not going to be as spectacular as most people think. On our end, unless Bargs and whoever becomes the backup PG becomes solid, I think our second unit will look pretty bad. But I guess we all knew that inside. It was a good glimpse at a couple things yesterday, since Sam largely decided to stick to the complete 1st unit and 2nd unit for most of the night, not juggling the lineups too much. Seems like Jason Kapono can become a sort of leader for the bench if he puts his mind to it. Here's hoping.

by Kinnon Yee on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

When the starters exited we were winning we finished the game with 5 backups who will never all be on the court at the same time. The sky is not falling, clearly it was an ugly game but how good was the Raps D when the starters were on?
Moon, Bosh and Oneal are the best defensive front line in the NBA, with Boston of course. Relax folks!!! Sure Lou Williams got to the rack with ease, he is a fast dude and he will give every team fits off the bench this year. We are better then Phily, Philly is good but we are better. In a seven games series (I cant see us playing them in a playoff round) We win for fun! They may win more regular season games only if they stay healthier then us. When I look at the preseason I am so optomistic based on the play of players who are actually going to play. The starters look great. JK can score, Andrea and Hump look solid off the bench and the backup PG does not look like an issue at all. If Hassan Adams never smelled the court we would have won for sure. He looks so bad so far (I know he is banged up) but he looks like a fat kid who can’t shoot. Hopefully Joey can bring a little energy when one of our wings gets in foul trouble our is having an off night.

I enjoyed Sherm and he is easily better then Leo, but who isn’t. Hopefully Jack gets the bulk of games, or Leo gets punched out by Dalembert in the first game and breaks his nose and he takes the year off.

One thing that pisses me off, and I know were fans and were critical, but how negative people are on here. You guys need to chill out an give this team 10 regular season games and then judge. I gurantee you there atleast 6-4 (which would be on pace for around 50 wins)

Premiter D is a concern, but so what every team has to have strengths and weaknesses:
-Phily Can’t shoot
-Detriot and Boston struggle to score at times
etc, etc

This will be the best team ever assembled in Raptor land both in regular season wins and playoff rounds so in stead of nitpicking the things we are not good at, how about we enjoy this great ride we are about to go on.

by raptorize blogmaster shayne on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry Shayne, I really don't mean to be critical, if I am one of the ones you are referring to. I am also quite optimistic about our team. I agree that our starters beat their starters, and Boston showed us last year that is how to win games in the 4th quarter.

Even our back ups look pretty good to me and I think we have plenty of positives going forward.

Bargs is really looking solid on offence, and that is what we need him for first. We got JO to allow the rest of his game to develop over the next couple of years.

Hump seems ready to take some of the burden off the front court too and make sure that JO and Bosh get plenty of rest throughout the season; he may even make some attractive trade bait at some point.

Salomon seems like a decent back up and even Ukic looks better than expected so I hope he gets some more reps in the preseason. I am getting a little tired of every PG that scores being compared to Mike James. Scoring isn't a bad thing. Hell, when Mike James was here he wasn't a bad thing. He was a sub, playing starter minutes, and chucking away. But he ran the pick and roll pretty effectively with CB4 and his heart and fire kept a lot of games close in a brutal season. If Salomon comes in and does the same things for 15 minutes a night, I think we should be celebrating.

I know everyone will say it is too early to start on Smitch, but why? Has he changed from the same guy that was brutally out-coached in the playoffs? Doesn't look like it. This team still seems disorganised and can't seem to find an identity. We should perhaps start looking like a tough defensive/rebounding team, but we have been badly out rebounded by philly and even the Knicks! In his own words, Sam can't coach defence. He seems unable to coach offence too, as he can't find a way to take advantage of Kapono's shooting, Bargnani's unique skill set, heck I'll even throw in Joey's ability as the most athletic guy on the team. As I said earlier, all we ever hear from Sam is what his players can't do. I am sure that is all they hear too. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone come in with a plan that would actually use our many strengths. Let CB4 carry the load on O, JO can get his from cleaning up CB4's misses. RUN PLAYS FOR THE LEAGUE'S BEST 3 PT SHOOTER. Take advantage of Bargnani's unique skill set! As it is now, it seems players are left on their own to "figure things out". I think we have an amazing team that can compensate for some of our weaknesses (our depth isn't too bad! and we should be able to better hide the lack of star power on the wing), but to do that we are going to need a coach to COACH the x's and o's. This team is motivated, they work hard, they have a great attitude - if that is all Smitch can bring to a team, then we have got all we can from him.

by Robert Archibald on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks for seeing that rant as a sign of a fan and not a hater. I know it is only pre-season, but as i said in my post this isn’t the first few games we have seen Sam’s act. If there isn’t a marked difference in his ability to prepare his team, especially with this team, he should be shown the door.

by Robert Archibald on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Robert,

I agree, I am worried about Sam too, always have been and probally always will. Especially when it comes to JK, he should watch some old Indian Pacer footage and see how they got Reggie Miller as many good shots as they did. ITS CALLED A DOUBLE SCREEN SAM MITCHELL TRY IT SOMETIME!! However this team can and is good enough to win despite him. Bryan will fire his ass if this team under achieves in his mind.

by RAPTORIZE BLOGMASTER SHAYNE on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

The whole negativity issue is something I'm going to talk about a bit in tomorrow's post...it's sort of tough to get around it in some ways during preseason, simply because the quality of play, for starters, isn't as good.

I'm getting anxious though for some real games to start so we can start to really examine what sort of team we have. Right now the bench looks shaky at times however as Tinman pointed out, our starters didn't exactly shoot the lights out either. Anyone else find that JO looks a bit stiff so far? Hopefully it's just getting back in "game shape..."

Damn...more negativity...

by Franchise on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I am usually one of the negative people on here as I just cannot accept that this team couldn't be better. However, I did see a lot of stuff I liked in last nights game. The starters definitely outplayed the 6ers and if the starters hadn't played their max minutes, they win this game easily. Anyone who complains about the bench getting outplayed needs to watch the game again as Philly always seemed to have at least one starter on the floor all the time and when Philly went on their run at the end of the game, it was all Philly because they had their starters in. If you really believe that someone's backups (any teams backups) can beat another teams starters on a consistent basis then you are deluding yourself. The fact that they kept it close game me hope that they can go through stretches with them if they needed to. As for Kappy not getting used correctly, try and remember that he is not going to play much during the preseason with Calderon who is the only true PG we have. Solomon will learn to hit him as time goes on (at least I hope).
We all knew this team wasn't going to win 60 games so just relax. Things could be a lot worse and if the Raps start off slow you won't have Smitch to kick around (I read that he is on the hot seat).

by McGateway on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I just watched the game in an hour and really liked the Raps starters as well. I actually liked JO's positioning and trying to get to the hole. His aggressiveness is needed. Besides, everyone has an off shooting night...at least he was taking good shots. I also agree about not calling plays for Kapono. You have an incredible weapon, use it for $#@%'s sake.

by Assistant GM on Oct 13, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Franchise did you see any positives for the Raps...I myself see the Raps starters out played the Philly's. They outscored, out rebounded and out played them on defence...I agree with you about Solomon I think he is a little trigger happy and we know Sam if he keeps this up in the regular season then Roko won't have to compete for his job. In regards to Kap-ONe I think Sam is hiding him during the preseason, remeber we have to play Philly 4 times this year and you can't let them know what your tendencies will be comes regular season, so I feel Kapono will be used differently in the regular season than what we are seeing now...it is the preseason. I have to say that I am impressed with Moon so far in the preseason, he is rebounding and playing above the rim, I hope he gets an invite to the AllStar Dunk contest this year again....Raps4Life

by raps4Life on Oct 14, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions