Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game – Pressure Cooker

Costly Mistakes...

I never thought it would come down to it in my preview (especially when they did so much right), but the two people that were responsible for last night's loss were one Will Solomon and one Sam Mitchell.

If there was ever a textbook case of a point guard without a clue, Will Solomon would be it. Against a point guard who could only drive, Will Solomon was inserted into the game in the first half, and did much of nothing. However, in the second half is where things fell apart and all the momentum that we were keeping suddenly evaporated. With Jose coming out of the game hot under the collar still due to the altercation with Garnett, Solomon proceeded to get the Raptors 3 turnovers on his watch. More importantly, he was hesitant about THROWING A PASS. I couldn't believe my eyes with how many problems he had making a simple pass in his few minutes of play in the fourth. He completely missed Bargnani several times on the weak side of the defense and instead, unsuccessful tried to toss passes in traffic on the other side.

As for Sam, I was yelling and screaming at him for tossing Solomon into the game, but more importantly, for NOT switching Kapono off of Pierce onto Ray Allen. I don't understand why he didn't make our jump shooter guard their jump shooter, while making Graham and Parker take Pierce. It just made absolutely no sense especially after Pierce began to burn the Raptors. Sam just STAYED WITH THE MATCHUP.

I was so angry because this game was clearly winnable and it just emphasizes how many problems there are right now that we could squander such an opportunity. Yes, Bosh, O'Neal and Calderon all made costly mistakes at the end of the game, but it was in the beginning of the 4th that cost us all our momentum, and subsequently, the game.

Dear Raps crew,

Nothing really left unsaid about a great game but..., after watching the Portland Orlando game ....Rudy Fernandez sticks out as someone who the rapts should covet. They have so many talented 2s and 3s, Outlaw, Roy, Batum, Webster etc What do you think it would cost to get Rudy...

D - Can't disagree more.

Solomon was terrible in the second half but I thought he did a great job as a back-up in the first. Not to mention after those 3 possessions, Sam yanked him, and rightfully so. But there's no way he cost the Dinos the game.

Toronto just doesn't have the personnel. The reason Boston's "Big 3" are so effective is because they are a perfect complement to each other. KG locked Bosh down and ratcheted up his team's intensity, Pierce slashed to the basket and when he went to the hoop, it opened things up for Allen. Just a deadly combination that Toronto had no answer for.

Think about it this way. Imagine if the Raptors had not hit some of those ridiculous 3's in the fourth?!! This game would have been over a lot earlier and the blame then would have fallen on others, including Bosh who was nearly as invisible as Bargnani.

Two things really bothered me about this game. Calderon kept on picking up his dribble at the top of the key. I think that's the main reason Bosh wasn't getting any looks. And. Boston's payroll is just larger than ours. Seeing these teams match up, it just kills me that the Celtics, simply have $10 million extra for great players. What do you think Colangelo could do with that kind of money.

$10 million would fetch us Ben Gordon. Think he may have been able to help the Raps last night?

I think Mitchell made a mistake using bosh as a decoy. I like the strategy for a play here and there, but to do it all night, especially since KG was so amped up, he probably would have picked up some more fouls and then backed off or fouled out.

I don't think O'neal has the legs to be the man in the 4th yet, and that's only IF he's rolling. He had a bad miss and a turnover with the game on the line... Mitchell should have went to Bosh instead.

Have to say our 2 and 3 looked the best I've seen in a long time - even Kapono had some nice defense.

Franchise - I don't agree. In the first, Solomon hesitated on multiple occasions getting the ball into O'Neal. And a lot of the good passing and such was initiated by Kapono, not Solomon. The Raptors up until his insertion where at least keeping Boston at arm's length, and it wasn't until Solo-man entered that the Raptors completely lost offensive rhythm.

And yes, Pierce started hurting the Raptors, so there had to be a switch not as far as personnel on the floor, but just who was guarding who. Joey's a bigger body and a bit faster than Kapono. I don't know if it would have made a huge difference, but it should have been tried at least. For three quarters they managed to check Pierce most of the time, but then Kapono gets dumped on him and he starts to get hot. Might have been too late at that point, but you have to do SOMETHING when a guy starts lighting you up.

As for Bargs, yes, he was ineffective because of (stupid) foul trouble, but I can't disagree with people more. If he doesn't get the ball, there's no way he can be an offensive threat. And he got only a handful of touches the entire game.

Watching Michell and Rivers coach against each other is like watching some sort of bizarro-world chess match. It's like they're playing chess using all red checkers and a monopoly board. Then they're trying to figure out how to use the eight sided die when they pass 'go'.

A few more odds and ends:

1. Finally some Jawai news, albeit from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/11/2416923.htm

Hopefully the results come back positive for the big guy.

2. Just a thought but you know who wouldn't have let Paul Pierce blow up in the fourth last night? The contract extension seeking Stephen Jackson.

Moon and Bargs for Jackson works financially, plus if Jackson wasn't the answer, you could let him walk and have his salary come off the books with O'Neal. Bargs and Moon would both probably thrive in Nellie's offense and GState looks to be headed back down the rebuilding path anyways.

That way you wouldn't give up Kapono either, so you'd start a pretty solid five of O'Neal, Bosh, Jackson, Parker and Jose.

It's sort of a knee-jerk reaction to needing a slashing 3 admittedly but there's not a lot else out there.

3. Mitchell does need to take a good chunk of blame ofr this loss but I think it's more for his use of Bosh as a "decoy" then the whole Kapono on Pierce thing. If Toronto had been able to score in the fourth quarter, then the whole Pierce debacle would have been a moot point. People are forgetting that Kapono did a fairly good job on Pierce earlier in the game. No, he's not the guy you want on "The Truth" in crunch time, but my point is it should never have come down to that.

During the post game rap Sam was rolling his eyes when he talked about Moon shooting 3's. That's why he was benched. Nevertheless, Joey would have been a better option on Pierce. BTW, someone should have defended Jose when he was harrassed by KG. Boy do we need an enforcer or don't we!

I think JoeyG deserves some recognition. He played very well last night. If it takes a new coach to get JoeyG to replace Moon, that’s a price I’m willing to pay.

What’s with the TWO reversed calls after Garnett complaints? You gotta be kidding me!

How many times does a play have to break down before you don’t go back to it? O’Neal kept turning the ball over down low. Why do you keep feeding him? How can you not find a way to find your big man? Do you think Kobe would have not taken a shot in the fourth quarter?

Note to Sam: If you study other great coaches, or even mediocre ones, you’ll see that they take the time out to stop the run and protect the lead, not after the lead has been evaporated.

Sorry, a little frustrated!

Kapono stayed in front of Peirce for the most part and had a hand in his face, Pierce is just too good. I agree with you Franchise, the problem was squarely on the offensive end.

"someone should have defended Jose when he was harrassed by KG" and that someone should've been Bosh, NOT O'Neal! I imagine that he knows it, now. It may turn out to be a good thing ...

WHAT A GAME....Its hard to believe that that was only game 7..it felt like a game 7 in the 2nd round of a playoff match...Too bad the Dino's couldn't pull it out...I am not going to blame anyone for this loss...we were playing the NBA champs on their home floor...I knew the lead the Raps had would not last..so I don't fault the players..I just think that Sam could have done things a little better....1. Call the play for Bosh in the 4th, uses screens to free him up from KG. 2. switch Kapono off Pierce after the first 2 drives by Pierce in the 4th, all Boston was doing was bring the ball up and give it to Pierce...If this game was in Toronto the Raps would win, its had to get momentum after you loss it coming off a Back to back on the road, at home you can get it back even if you are tired but its tough on the Road especially against a quality team like the Champs....We will get them next time....Good game though..tough loss....Raps4Life.

Bosh - Allowed Garnett to own him (Hold off on the Superstar comments)
Calderon - Picked Up his dribble to soon on picks and roll.
Smitch - Using Bosh as a decoy was idiotic, especially in the 4th. I like the play with Bosh coming off a screen to set up the screen and roll with jose. I think Bosh shouldve been on the move more.
Kapono - Seems like he is the only one who is consistent when the game has some pressure. People may complain about his defence on Pierce, but who would you rather have on the floor? If smitch put in Moon, Boston wouldve completely shut out the raps' o. And he couldn't afford to have Graham learning on the fly.

Tuff to say but i knew we were going to lose this one. Boston just looked asleep in the first half and then woke up later. Sam's game-plan was simply wrong last night but i think he was tryin to do the same thing that he did last year with bosh as a decoy. That was the last game where jose cut to the hoop for the win.

No ones really talking about htis either but jose didnt have that great a game. If hes not making those shots off the picknroll, it makes cb4 and jos jobs that much tuffer.

I'm going to say it one last time. It's not about not having Kapono on the floor. We needed him offensively. It's about who could have been guarding his man and who he could have been guarding instead. Kapono on House/Allen and then Graham/Parker on Pierce makes much more sense to me. No one is saying Kapono should have been of the floor, and I don't know why everyone keeps reading it that way.

DUMP BARGNANI, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we could get Gerald Wallace for the Italian Scallion, then do it. Harrington is too much of a risk for me, but Bargs + Moon or Parker or Kapono would be fine with me. If would give us an even shorter bench, but at least we'd have someone starting at the 2 or 3 spot that is intelligent (Parker) AND can jump (Moon).

Wallace would make this a 45+ win team in my opinion, while right now we're going to struggle to win 41.

Please, Colangelo, fix this now so we don't have to suffer through another mediocre year.

Grrr….
I hope Sam learns something from this.
How to coach.

If we hope to win against the Big Boys – without a legitimate 3 (and some more 2) – we need two of our Bigs to be on their game. Bargs was done when he chalked up his 3rd foul (in his first 4 minutes). Bosh disappeared … where, I don’t know.

Should we trade for help?
Reinforcing our 3 spot, by reducing our 4/5 strength (Bosh, O’Neal, & Bargs), doesn’t strike me as a good idea. If O’Neal was to go down, we’d be screwed. The simple fact is, we have nothing to trade right now. BC has to stay with the game plan – "Not this year".

As for our toughness, I think next time we play Boston – and this would mean sacrificing AB – we should give the ball to Bargs, tell him to put his head down and aim for KG. And put some of that new weight into it. A few HARD offensive fouls and maybe we get our point across. Garnett deserves that kind of treatment. Why KG didn’t get a technical (for his immature rant at Jose) is beyond me. I know we sucked in the 4th quarter, but that type of refereeing is BS.

DSL -

Funniest comment of the year - hands down!

First of all I wanted to say, the refs last night were very "suspect." Alot of overturned calls and not calling Garnett for taunting.

But also in regards to any trade speculation.

I think people need to realize, trading Bargs for G wallace, gives us maybe 5+ wins THIS year, and hurts our cap room in '10. Also it wont make us a championship contender, so it would be stupid (IMO). If BC trades Bargs it will be for a STAR! and it would instantly make us into contenders. Who?

1st Tier (Championship 2nd or 3rd Options) : Richardson, Vince Carter, Howard

2nd tier(Guys that will not get us into Champion contention) : G wallace, Jefferson, S. Jackson, Redd

All the 1st tier guys are playing as #1's but aren't number 1's. Also all have bad contracts so the team wouldn't be asking for much.

I think you gotta look at everybody with one Question in mind "On a championship team, what role would this player have?"

I think Bosh Calderon and JO are 1st 3rd and 4th Option on a championship team. We need a 2nd option that can create his own shots unfortunately, that may not happen this year.

eeeeeeeesssshhh, my bad howard obviously isn't a #1 on dallas. But he was a #2 option on that dallas team that made it to the finals.

I seem to recal an early season game against the celts last year, with the same outcome...a closely fought game that the raps lost. It was supposed to be a showdown and see how the celts would stack up against the reigning division champs. Sadly, after the raps lost, their season started to slip down and down. I hope the same thing doesnt happen this year (I also hope that my memory isn't faulty...anyone else remember that game at the beginning of the season last year?)

If Washington continues to implode, I wonder if DeShawn Stevenson might not become available for something less than Bargs. He can defend. He's a bit crazy but maybe he would have gotten in KG's face last night.

Well if last night's game did nothing else it helped me rediscover my hatred for the Celtics.

A great game by the Raptor's TEAM, against the NBA champ's, showing that they can play defense.

The reality of the 2 teams is that KG, Pierce, & Allen, as probable future hall of famers,are much better players & far more experienced than anyone at their position on the Rap's. End of story.

Rap's have to be better under pressure, as once Boston turned up the pressure on D they struggled.

Some thoughts on KG vs Bosh, KG 21pts,10rbs, and led the defensive effort. Bosh 24yrs old and an emerging STAR KG is there NOW.

With Calderon becoming inconsistent shooting,he needs to be more aggressive early & consistently looking to score when open on the P&R, and on kick outs.
He does not need to score big, but to give the threat for the defense to look at.

Let's remember how Boston destroyed Detroit the night before in the Pistons home.

Last comment, how many of you thought Rap's would win this game in the previews?

I too have a problem with Bargnani's play yestarday, on the defensive end. On the offinsice end I disagree with you Frachise. On offense players are not free to choose the position of their liking, they position themselves where the play used demands them to be. A few times Andrea has been posting deep not to see the ball at all and once he committed an offensive foul. The blame i on him for that possession and on Smitch for all the others. I did not see all raptors games this year but I have seen a few and Andrea's contribution on offence is definitely proportional to the number of touches he gets. I do not want to start a discussion now on what happened last year, it is not the place, right here, right now to discuss about the minutes he got last year to prove himself and failed (otherwise we could also argue that on pure merits he should start ahead of Joe this year) but it is obvious that either Smitch suggested to use him too as a decoy or he has been telling Jose to give him the ball and Jose is not listening (which is again problem for Smitch to address). I believe it is cristal clear he has not been given instruction to take the initiative. maybe he has not been told anything at all and rightfully or wrongfully he has not decided to attack head down.
By reading all these posts I am starting to believe there is quite a bridge to gap between Smitch and Colangelo in relation to how **several** players are currently being used.
Since also Bosh starts to be unhappy about the team direction and/or game strategy I believe indeed changes are coming but possibly some other butt is on the line before any player's one

Hey Franchise,

You must've read my mind. I've said it in previous posts that we NEED to go after Stephen Jackson. He can answer a slew of the Raptors problems right NOW. I love his intensity and anger. He would definitely fit our position of SF. He salary is about 7 million, so it wouldn't be hard to match. If they are including Barney in the trade they would need to recieve a centre/or pf in the return (OR include a 3rd team in the deal). I have another scenerio: What if the Raptors giveup Kapono, Adams and cash considerations? I don't like to part with the best 3-point shooter in the L, but we will be getting 18-20 points/per game from Jackson plus the all important DEFENSE.

Howland has brought up Al Harrington name in trade rumors, but I think his contract is way too large. I'm a fan of Gerald Wallace because he plays exactly like Stephen Jackson, but he is very injury prone and the Raptors would need a durable player.

What troubles me most about watching this team is that it seems not to get the most out of its available talent. People credit Mitchell with having a hand in Bosh and Calderon's development, but if Bosh hadn't been thrown to the wolves by Kevin O'Neil in his first year, would he have developed as well as he has to this point?

With Mitchell as coach, a lot of assets seem to be wasting away and that includes Graham, Bargnani and free agent signings like Kapono. Coaches that get the most out of what they have formulate systems that capitalize on players' strengths. The results may not always be championship level, but an informed observer can appreciate that what was done was the most that could have been expected. That's not what happens with this team so we are always frustrated as a fan base because we know more could be accomplished with these parts.

I suppose that would also put the GM at a disadvantage because in trading away players he is never quite sure if he saw the best that player could offer and in acquiring players, there is no guarantee that the coach will use them properly to justify the trade. Why sign Adams, or even Bastion from last year when they are not used AT ALL?

We often speculate how Roy, Aldridge, or Gay would have looked in a Raptors uniform instead of Bargnani, but maybe a fairer question is would Roy, Aldridge or Gay have been able to develop as well under Mitchell? I am increasingly having my doubts.

Trading for Jackson is ridiculous - first, the guy is not the poster boy for sanity and things will wear out really quick (think Artest in Sacramento, Artest AND Jackson in Indiana) etc. I understand our wings are suspect but the reality is that we have an organization that is not willing to spend money to become a championship team. So you will have 3 great players, 2 good ones and the rest a bit here and there. Additionally, as I was actually at the game and sitting behind Raps bench, Mitchell is not the quickest in recognizing the reality on the court or anticipating it. Instead, often it was the assistant who would have to point the obvious... Not to harp on it but perhaps we need a better coach before we go trade half the team away? Just thinking out loud...

I agree with a lot of what you are all saying, but I am not so doom and gloom as some of you are this morning. The Raps played great basketball for almost 3 quarters against a polished championship team. JO was hot early and often so obviously you want to continue to go to him. The problem is that JO stopped getting touches until late in the game and had obviously cooled off at that point. I don't blame Bargs for playing 10 minutes and getting no touches. Bosh has to take some flack because he wasn't driving the lane. He settled for too many long jumpers. Missed free throws was an issue as well. The real turing point last night was the officiating. Let's be clear on this. Yes, the Raps didn't execute down the stretch, but it is pretty hard to do when the referees are deflating your momentum. Up by six points, Bosh does a great job of getting the charge. The refs deliberate after the Celtics complain and the call is reversed sending Ray Allen to the line to make two free throws. This was the fatal blow. Remember this was a tie game with just over a minute to play. Had the Raps taken possession (after the Bosh charge) and scored, they would have been up by eight(and they were making their shots at this point), not up by four with the momentum swinging in the Celts direction. Believe me, they will win more than 41 games this year. Especially if they play the way they did for much of three quarters last night, againt the rest of the teams in the league.

As for Smitch...well he's...Smitch, and isn't known for his preparation, in-game adjustments or improvisation skills. Hopefully, JO (as the newbie) vocalizes this at some point. Didn't he play under Rick Carlisle for a while. I'm sure he knows what true preparation is supposed to look like...just my thoughts!

The Arsenalist emphasizes Vicious D's points about Soloman/kapono here:

http://raptorsrepublic.com/blog/2008/11/11/celtics-shove-one-right-up-raptors-arse/

I meant to say "Missed free throws WERE an issue as well. The real TURNING point last night was the officiating."

what kg did was immature beyond words, a total class-less move. i was watching the game and he did this for several possessions while jose was bringing up the ball, the clip shows only the last play of the 3rd q, this guy was on jose's face wagging that finger like there was no tomm. i've seen players get t'd up for much lesser acts, let alone something that continued for 2-3 straight possessions, the refs were there, but they refused to call it. that brings me to my next point, the reffing in this game was pathetic. they literally helped the celtics get back in the game, and there were two pierce 3 pointers where his foot was on the line, even showed it on camera but they gave him the superstar treatment.

also some more ref's screwup:

- jo blocks glen davis cleanly all ball and gets called for a foul.

- jo gets blocked by leon powe, which was actually a terrible foul and he completely ripped his arm off (boston's tommy dumb f'in heinoshon aka biggest celtics homer announcer screamed his lungs out saying its all ball several times to try and justify it even though several replays shows what truly transpired).

- ap gets fouled horribly on a 3 pointer at the end of the game, four point play not called. (check nba.com raps highlights, its shown very clearly he got hit hard and fell down).

- the changed call from a charge to a blocking foul on bosh about 15 seconds after the play happened (absolutely disgusting one sided officiating).

back to kg, he was holding onto bosh and his shorts all game long, tugging at him during cuts and only until mid-way through the 4th q the refs ended up calling it thanks to sam mitchell pleading his case for like the 20th time. kg' a fake and choke artist, true franchise players carry their teams to another level, (i.e lebron) where was kg and his 'intensity' to elevate his teammates in last 10 yrs in minnesota??? acting like a primate to a 6'3 spanish pg makes you a winner kg, a winner in the special olympics, even when you win, you are still retarded.

Yo Lucas, lose the "primate" references. That's classless too

I love the Jackson Idea. The bottom line is as much as I love Bosh, his personality is still one that defers. He was looking up to KG like a school kid last night. He needs to be surrounded by aggressive players, and then he too will become more aggressive. Jose, JO and Jax on the same team? Those might be the 3 feistiest players at their position in the L.

I don't know if it gets us a championship, but it gives us an identity, and a swagger that would give us a chance. Who would want to play against that team in the playoffs? We also can't forget about lebron. If you want to travel through the eastern playoffs someone has to gaurd lebron. Moon, parker, kapono? This team has a hole.

As far as Jax though, could we do it without giving up Bargs?

Having said all that, it is only 7 games into the season. This team will gel and become better. They'll still be terrible defending on the wing, and won't be able to create their own shot once bosh is intimidated out of the game. But they will gel and find a identity, even if that means a 1st or 2nd round exit.

Mad discussion!

Sho - The swingman topic is a guaranteed upcoming blog post, especially if the club sticks around .500. However some of those guys just aren't options.

Take Josh Howard.

Yep, on paper he'd be a perfect fit next to Bosh and O'Neal at the 3. However Howland and I ran some numbers this morning and to match his nearly 10 Mil in salary, you'd have to give up either Bargs AND Kapono or one of those two and Joey, Moon, Hump etc, etc. So the numbers just don't work.

Not to mention, who the hell would Dallas want from the Raptors? Bargs?? No thanks, they already have the REAL Dirk.

Anyways, the point is that if you look around the league, there are very few realistic trade options for a Toronto team so low on depth.

The best fit in my opinion is still Travis Outlaw, a sixth man for Portland who would be a stud here for us starting at the 3. However with TJ gone and Bargs' salary too high, not sure how that trade would work at present.

The other option is something SAM alluded to in the comments - look at teams that are struggling. How good would Caron Butler look at the 3? Think if Gilbert can't come back at 100 per cent and the Wiz tank that there might not be a major shake-up? I don't think Stevenson is the answer (although an upgrade on Moon for sure) but perhaps to cut costs the usually frugal Wiz would dump some salary...

Lots of anti-Sam talk and as much as I pined for a switch to Dantoni when he was available, I'm just not sure it's all warranted. An interesting point though Interloper about the development of Bargs vs Gay etc. My counter to that would be the development of Bosh and Calderon, both under Mitchell for the lion's share of their young NBA careers. It's hard to argue that Mitchell hasn't brought out the best in both of them.

In particular look at Bosh. His foot-work in the post is MILES ahead of where it was even two seasons ago. And remember how fans were screaming for a big-man coach? I haven't heard a peep about that in a while now.

That being said - love comments like the one from Double M. It's always easy to play armchair GM but sitting up close gives a much better indication of what's REALLY going on. And it's mighty worrying if Mitchell's assistants are the ones noticing major issues. Subtleties, fine, that's what assistants are for. But what if the assistants were urging different sets to free up Bosh and he's ignoring the suggestions? Now that's a major problem.

I took another look at last night's box score and perhaps I was being a bit harsh on Bargs. He played only 11 minutes and had only four shots. He didn't get the touches he needed for sure, but my frustration stemmed from a stretch in the second half when he had clear size or skill advantages over his defenders and yet failed to aggressively attack the hoop.

And that brings me to another thought - if Bosh and JO are going well, how is Bargs going to get the minutes he needs to be a factor since he won't be playing the 3? I still think Andrea will be a good player in this league, but more and more I think that it makes more sense for BC to swallow his pride and move him for a true 3.

PS - Lucas - Great summary, got me riled up just reading your recap of the "reffing." Like another poster said, the whole thing last night just re-amplified my hatred for this Celtics' team.

Sam - Think Lucas simply meant "primate" in the context of "acting without any sort of cranial development."

Which if you never watched ball and saw Garnett last night, would probably be your conclusion as well. The intensity is one thing, but taunting a point guard up the court? No way that shouldn't have been a technical foul.

Let's all agree that comparing black people to monkeys, directly or indirectly, really is off-base and then move on.

KG is stupid, classless, show-boating, a turd, a caricature of a great basketball player, not fit to lick Bird or MJ's boots - there's still a lot of room to vent.

yeah yeah...can always count on a good discussion up here on the HQ.

so first off, not sure why all the 'bosh got owned' stuff is flying around. the fact is, garnett, probably the sickest defender of 4's out there, had one job and one job only. (in the 4th) shut. down. bosh. he did at the sacrifice of his offense, rebounding, and pretty much his overall game.

I'm sure we could do the same with bosh to any other 4 out there in the league right now.

the difference is, we don't have a pierce that can step in and make up for garnett's (bosh's) lack of scoring. all the worse is that bosh is the raps leading scorer. so it hurts that much more when the clamp down comes hard on him.

anyway, what a ridiculous game. loved it even though we lost. and I would have to agree with franchise that the game should never have gone down to the wire. the game was lost late in the 3rd/early 4th. the boys in red just got a little scared, and started playing soft.

but I also agree with Vicious in that kap 1 should not, under any circumstances, have been guarding pierce down the stretch. he should have been on the floor shooting the lights out, no doubt, but the switch should have been taking place at the other end.

that's on smitch.

kinda reminded me of the 81 kobe game. it's almost as if the smitch just becomes a spectator to it all. doesn't react fast enough.

oh and moon should come play with me and my boys at the YMCA, cause after that performance last night tossing up all those nonsensical 3's, I doubt he's going to see much playing time the next few games.

and sam, white people can act like primates too. so can latinos. or asians. it's a dumb people thing, not a race thing. that's the point.

- I Love KG but what he did last night was not cool. I can understand the intensity of the game but if it was any other player they would have been T up immediately...Which leads me to my other point The Referees
- I was yelling at the TV last night at some of these ridiculous and reverse calls...I think the NBA has to look into this and do something about this...it seems to get worse and worse every night.
- Sam o Sam....I not on the firing Sam bus as yet but I hope God will shine some light on your on your tiny brain cells and some how create a spark so you will get the basketball knowledge you required...This was the worst fourth quarter I have ever seen were the coach constantly call the wrong plays and not recognizing match-ups and when things are going wrong...He constantly used Bosh as a decoy and I have to agree with majority of the people on this blog I would prefer a JG/AP on Pierce rather than KP. KP did a fair good job but he was better suited for Ray Ray in the Fourth rather than Pierce
- Do we need an Athletic 3...hmm yes? Do we trade AB for a 3 ...NO NO NO!!!! I prefer give up a second round draft pick with JG/AP/JP and cash. And I think S. Jackson would make a perfect fit but it not worth give up AB for. Outlaw is cheaper and will do a better Job than Moon and JG combine

NBA is a business! Boston is well over cap space and paying lots of $$$ because of it. Is it surprise the officials (league hired) favours them? Detroit game reffed the same against Boston only dif was Detroit played bad too. Toronto want to get more calls spend some money. Toronto is just not sexy enough to the league to really matter. How many bad calls against Toronto lately? Just an observation

I'm pretty sure that I am a smarter basketball player than Jamario Moon.

"BTW, someone should have defended Jose when he was harrassed by KG. Boy do we need an enforcer or don't we!"

Bring back Primo Brezec!!!

The groin is a gangsta!

I think at this point its clear that Colangelo can't land another starting player without cutting into the limited amount of talent he already has.

I think for this reason he'll pass on Wallace or anything else that would cost Bargs.

Instead I see him looking longer term and cheaper - how about a draft pick for Portland's Nick Batum? He's a utility knife small forward and he won't cost anything like Wallace.

Would the Lakers part with Sun Yue's contract for a pick? (and can we get him over here?)

Can we get that young high-flyer Walker out of Boston for picks and or a bench guy?

Aside from that kind of move, I see Colangelo solving the hole through the draft - someone like Omri Casspi.

Which means until then it's the Kapono-Moon-Graham show.

Buckle up!

"As for Smitch...well he's...Smitch, and isn't known for his preparation, in-game adjustments or improvisation skills. Hopefully, JO (as the newbie) vocalizes this at some point. Didn't he play under Rick Carlisle for a while. I'm sure he knows what true preparation is supposed to look like...just my thoughts!"

Well if you don't have in game adjustments and game by game planning, should you not have a well establish and effective system that maximizes the players contributions regardless of who they play. We have neither.

"Not to harp on it but perhaps we need a better coach before we go trade half the team away? "

QFT.

I was aghast that BC resigned Smitch, and I was fearful it might happen when he got coach of the year. I love BC, but that is on him.

"Yo Lucas, lose the "primate" references. That's classless too"

Curious how the word "primate" now has a near universal racial connotation.

That was a nice effort, the ending was a letdown but still not many teams would win (or even compete) at Boston second night of a back to back.

PS: I love the league pass, but I had to mute the audio rather than listening to the obnoxious Heinson

Amen TJ Caino Amen!

Davl, if you read my posts the last few games, I commented on the calls going against the Raps and favouring our opponents. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but seriously guys, do you not think that the Raps might be getting the short end of the stick because we are north of the border?

JO used to get calls his way, but now that he is in a Raps uni, every call seems to go against him. Bosh, who is becoming a superstar gets no preferential treatment in a league that favours it's stars. Like Davl says, its just an observation.

Totally agree on the reffing Assistant GM - I don't want to say Toronto never gets calls, but so far this season there's been a curious lack for someone of Bosh and even O'Neal's stature. I think it bears watching over the next few games especially where Toronto has to take on Marquee names like Brand, Wade and Howard.

Apologies to all who had to listen to the league pass feed with the Boston commentators...that must have made things 10 TIMES AS BAD - never even thought about that.

Although I guess one could argue that Sherman isn't a HUGE improvement...

Bedhead - Like your thinking. I don't think Portland will let Batum go since they're starting him most nights, but some other slightly under the radar players like that might be had for cheap. The fact that Toronto didn't (well, couldn't financially I suppose) make a run at Azubuike still burns me. I have him on my fantasy team as he's averaging almost 20 a game and getting to the line quite a bit.

And ironically, another nice fit would probably be John Salmons...

cricket cricket

PS - Loved the "I'm a smarter ball player than Jamario," and "playing chess with red checkers on a monopoly board" comments...both are getting some love as comment of the week.

I've said my piece regarding Sam Mitchele on this site many times so I'm not going to re-hash old arguments. But you all have to at least admit that Franchise has a point here. The Raptors with Kapono, Paker, Grahm and Moon probably have one of if not the worst swingman rotations in the league. We've got to come to terms with that. I'm not sure Riley or Phil Jackson could get more out of that bunch so why take the easy way out and blame Smitch?

Furthermore, last night we lost a game to one of the best teams assembled this century (the 2000's), on their home court with the refs in the bag after playing them pretty strong all night.

Vicous D... A week after complaining about Sam riding his starters, you complain about him leaving in Solomon (for a grand total of 9 minutes). What is your argument now, that Calderone should have played more than his 40 minutes... I'm not trying to break your B's Vicous, I just encourage you to be a little less reactionary and a little more consistant.

MAS - If you want to pick on me that's fine. I'm happy to oblige. If you want to rehash old wounds, you should take a look at what I said before. My only problem was on the first night of the back to back (the GSW game). This clearly was not the first game. In fact, I wrote about how it was justified having the starters play extended minutes in the 2nd game of the back to back, perfectly consistent with what I've been writing here. I didn't mention minutes in the Bucks game, and I didn't talk about them for this game either. If you want, you can go back and read my comments about the Bucks game.

Oh, and about Solomon, I've been extremely consistent with my criticism of his play so far.

interesting discussion with a lot of good points: game had a play off feel to it, and the Raps came up short -- a real lesson for the season and time to address it now and not in April.
I think the management knows they need an upgrade and that the Parker/Moon combination is not the answer largely because AP has slowed, isn't as deadly from downtown and is not being picked up by Moon who is not playing above the rim, shot blocking and rebounding but wild and wide.
Bargs is not the problem, nor is Joey nor is Kapono who played great last night and all season -- the weakness is a wing with AP's heart and smarts and Moon's athleticism.
Everyone knows it but those players are in short supply and with all respect to Harrington and Wallace they ain't it either.
Some ideas who by salary and situation might be a solution for the Raps that I throw out for comment:
Shane Battier (can Houston carry him and Artest?)
Al Thornton -- young, cheap dynamic -- Clips often make poor trade decisions
Travis Outlaw: Portland has a surplus, but knows it -- might value APs experience and expiring conract
Andes Nocioni: Chicago still aren't going anywhere and might want to move to more salary flexibility to allow them to replace Hinrich -- ppossible 3 team deal?

We are coddling Calderon. He didn't take it to the hoop but twice on the night! Boston didn't really worry about him scoring or penetrating. It allowed them to defend the perimeter more tightly. Frustrating.

Not to mention Jose's the worst defender on the team. Knowing this, Boston ran a bunch of picks in the 4th to get a switch so he would end up guarding pierce.

Memo to Calderon, when you're a backup other teams don't game plan your game apart. Better start making adjustments.

MAS - Do you have something personal against ViciousD? He just started on the site! I'm not really sure why you're being so nitpicky. Chillax.

I don't think he was picking on you Vicious; perhaps it was a bit "nitpicky" as observer observed.

I construed the comment as offering some constructive feedback, which was based on a slight misunderstanding of your positions. You were able to provide a more sophisticated representation of said positions and the world is a better place for it!

On the bright side, he actually read what you said, connected it with you, remembered it, and compared it to later statements... Most writers online can't even claim the first part! (being read)

TJ & Observer - Thanks for those comments. I'm ok with it, because it provokes some kind of discussion. It seems I need to work on clarifying my points a little better in the future. I don't have the same connection with you guys yet that Franchise and Howland have, so it's going to take time, but I also hope to give an alternate perspective on things sometimes. As you've seen in this discussion alone, I have vastly different observations from Franchise at times. Ha ha ha.

I just thought MAS and I resolved things already a while back as well as came to an understanding of how I view managed minutes, so maybe I was feeling a bit confrontational about the issue when he wanted to bring it up again. That and I'm still kinda ticked about the squandered chance at a victory

Please take the following for what it is - a joke (not racial in any sense of the form)

The only way primate and basketball should be used together in the same sentence is when talking about Partick Ewing!! Hahaha, that guy just looked like an ape! (again, not racial, not because he was black...just because of his body structure, please take as a joke) hahaha

Asst GM - I'm not one to dwell too long on poor officiating (perceived or real) but YES I truly believe that Canada's team get's very little respect from the NBA for being just that. I don't think it's entirely intentional; I think it's just easier to make calls against the Raps since we're practically secluded from U.S. media...no press = less accountability. Until this team builds a consistent winner, that can't be ignored, we will have these issues hanging over the franchise. I just hope we don't lose star players because of it (if your team has a better chance of winning and you get the opportunity of putting up better numbers in a "high profile" team or market, why wouldn't you go?).

I think Stern actually orchestrated the Embry and Colangelo moves to help resolve the "situaton". He needs Toronto to work if he ever wants to get the NBA to Europe (his pipe dream).

Asst GM - I'm not one to dwell too long on poor officiating (perceived or real) but YES I truly believe that Canada's team get's very little respect from the NBA for being just that. I don't think it's entirely intentional; I think it's just easier to make calls against the Raps since we're practically secluded from U.S. media...no press = less accountability. Until this team builds a consistent winner, that can't be ignored, we will have these issues hanging over the franchise. I just hope we don't lose star players because of it (if your team has a better chance of winning and you get the opportunity of putting up better numbers in a "high profile" team or market, why wouldn't you go?).

I think Stern actually orchestrated the Embry and Colangelo moves to help resolve the "situaton". He needs Toronto to work if he ever wants to get the NBA to Europe (his pipe dream).

Raptoronto says:

November 12th, 2008
Asst GM - I'm not one to dwell too long on poor officiating (perceived or real) but YES I truly believe that Canada's team get's very little respect from the NBA

Refs are not betting on games are they LOL (sort of)

scott, dude, you just don't go there, ever

Vicious, TJ and Observer, I’m not picking on Vicious, maybe a bit nitpicky I suppose, but I’m sure
Vicious is a big boy and can handle it. I’m sure he is up to people challenging his arguments.

As for your retort Vicious, I can see your argument and that’s fine. But my overall point is that blaming Mitchell
every time this team looses is a cop out. You blame him for leaving in Solomon for 9 minutes, please tell me what the alternative is. He is the back up point guard that was signed by the GM. If your analysis of the game is going to be "it was Mitchell’s fault" I believe it should be challenged because it is an oversimplification of the challenges the Raptors face. Namely, a deficit in talent on their bench and at the wings.

Well there you have it. For all those of you who have criticized the local media for not asking Sam Mitchell the tough questions, according to article in Star, he is not obliged to tell them anything and he won’t. He will not divulge his thought processes or justify his decisions. Scribers will be left to themselves to decipher Sam’s motives. No wonder they walk on egg shell around this guy.
And the fans, they lose out twice, witnesses to a bad game and afterwards given no true explanation.

MAS - Here's my relationship with Sam Mitchell. Always liked the guy, defended him a lot on the previous site I worked for. Thought X's and O's (tactics) were fine. Problem has always been substitutions. I try not to use it as a cop out, but I realize that it is there sometimes.

The reason why I was mad at Mitchell taking out Jose at that time in the 4th largely has to do with the fact that Jose was very much gun-ho to keep going. If you looked at the conversation between Jose and Mitchell after Jose got pulled out, I just saw this passion in Jose's eyes that I was worried would be cooled if he got bench time. Yes, he was playing a ton of minutes already, and probably needed a little rest, but Jose just seemed to be ready and wanting to keep going. When Jose got back in, it didn't seem to be quite there anymore.

As for an alternative decision, it has always been Roko Ukic. I absolutely despise the way Will Solomon runs the offensive side of the ball. Yes, Ukic is a defensive liability, but I think facilitating a rhythm that continues past Jose is much more important. His continued growth and development is much more important to me, possibly than wins and losses. I might be alone in my assessment, but I'd rather lose now, but get the team gelled with the proper personnel (ie, 2006-2007) rather than get good production and wins at the beginning, only to be fundamentally flawed in the latter part of the year (ie, 2007-2008)

I just read all your posts and I must commend everyone on a great discussion. A word to Vicious D, your opinions are respected here and you do not have to justify every comments that you make or you will be defending yourself all day. Everyone has their own opinions and if one reader does not like what you said, that is their peragotive. I hate it when people pick on Sam but sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong and that is why a I keep reading because I know there will be another post that side with my opinion on Sam...That's the beauty of coming to the HQ site and sharing our thoughts with each other. It is still early in the season and the team is off to an OK start, 7 games played and 5 is on the road, that is tough for any team that is trying to gel together. So I will give everyone in the Raps organization some slack until the team plays at least a quarter of the schedule...Someone ask earlier if anyone remembers the 1st game last year with Boston and I clearly remembers and you are correct it was right after that game that the Raps started to run into trouble winning close games. This team however is a lot different...Kapono on Pierce, I give Kap a lot of credit some of those shots Pierce made was rediculous the ball way up in the air and fall in the hoop, sometimes players get it going and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. 3 pointers from way downtown falling, it was just one of those days for Pierce and AP or Joey or Moon on him would not make a difference, probably would be worst....I hope this is the last post on this article....lets go out and give Philly a wopping tonight and maybe the Refs will gives us a break tonight.........raps4life.

For my understanding:
Given the Raptor are just under the luxury tax with no interest to exceed it and are also at the minimum player count, how would Colangelo negotiate a deal to add a player like Al Harrington or Gerald Wallace when it would require at least 2 players from our side to match either of their contracts?