Tip-In: Raptors Post-Game - Spare Parts

What's the deal with Joey Graham? DNP? Did he try to date one of Sam's daughters?

I saw the game (I have cogeco cable, and they carry TSN2), and here's a brief recap.

Fairly even first quarter, with the raps dominating inside, and the heat dominating the perimeter. Bargnani was very good in the 1st starting in Moon's spot. He carried the offense early on.

Second quarter, Miami got a bit ahead after nailing some 3's. Quinn and Cook were knocking down open jumpers.

3rd quarter, Raps really started to pound the glass. and ended up with a small lead heading into the 4th, where they played some great defense anchored by Jermaine O'neil to close out the win. The defining moment came when O'neil had a MONSTER block of Cook, which turned into a Kapono three ball in transition. The heat got the lead down to 5, but couldn't get any closer.

Of note...

-O'neil was a beast on the boards. The heat couldn't handle him at all.
-Bosh had a very quiet 27
-Bargnani only had 12, but the box score doesn't do justice to his impact on the game, especially early.
-Moon looked inspired coming off the bench. He drove to the hoop repeatedly instead of settling for jumpers
-no Joey....I don't know why
-Solomon was good...still a little shot happy, but controlled himself for the mostpart.
-Shawn Marion was a complete no-show for the Heat. They need to deal him soon.
-Wade carried the Heat as expected. Parker worked hard, and some timely double teams kept him from totally taking over, but Wade definitely looks healthy again.
-Sam had the glasses back on! I guess the laser eye surgery didn't take
-Overall, an entertaining game. There were more than 20 lead changes. It's just too bad TSN and Rogers couldn't get together to get a deal done so everybody could see it.

you are both now officially the hardest core, most ridiculous raps fan in the raptors universe.

1st) you're in vegas;
2nd) you're in vegas and trying to catch a raps game somewhere
3rd) you're in vegas, trying to catch a raps game, and then actually posting here the same night!

you guys are freaks.

in any case, the game was good. no, the starting points for miami aren't top notch. but chalmers has been pretty good for them.

second, d-wade was on the floor. possibly the best 'and 1' guy in the nba right now and they mostly played well against him.

also, the beas and haslem aren't slacks and they could get nothing going against our bigs.

last point: I think it's officially time to recognize that bargs has turned the corner - at least on defense. his offense has sort of come and gone this season, but his defense has been damn respectable.

and as for his offense, it's coming too. he's got the 3; he's got the 3 fake and drive; he's got a straight up drive if you're too close; he's picked up some solid post moves; and he can pass out of all of them.

what's coming next is, (if he keeps playing at this level,) is that the doubles might start to come and he's going to have to deal with them.

dirk nothing.

had to drive an hour to my cousins to catch the game. definitely worth it.

I though the 3 big lineup was great and note that bosh was defending small forward beasley i think to start...

Yep - Raptors red runs deep in our veins ha ha. And wait till we get back and blog about our roulette betting scheme - completely based on Raptors' jersey numbers and colours!

Great breakdown Jeff, Howland and I were saying the same thing about Marion, he just looks totally out of place there. In fact, it just reinforces what EVERYONE was saying about him when he was griping about minutes and role in Phoenix - on a team that plays halfcourt and doesn't have a Nash-type floor general, he's just not effective.

And Todd, I'm starting to think that your theory about Joey is bang on, him not playing all of a sudden is like Vegas itself - random.

I was sitting up in 306 at the ACC for this game, so here's my first hand account:

Bargs played good two way ball. Confident and efficient on offence, and smart on D. When he was out matched in quickness there was always help with double teams, granted he didn't even look that out-matched! Fast guy for 7ft.

bosh, quiet 27 points, but had incredible vision, really making sure that things were working on offence.

JO, true beast on the boards, great positioning and strong and aggressive at the basket.

All three bigs had some pretty questionable calls, their size dominance was pronounced. Beasley looked like Jamario Moon, and he usually had Bargs or JO on him.

Solomon and Roko both managed their tasks well. I have to praise Roko for his ability to run the floor, he was often the first guy to set up on offence. Solomon broke down the defence, which worked wonders sometimes and led to bad decisions other times.

Kapono, Moon and Parker all had solid games, shooting well, and doing their part on defense.
Kapono started to be more quick with his shot and gave up on the pump fake, which led to much better shooting opportunities.

It should be noted that Bargs was a visible step up from moon or kapono in the starting lineup.

Moon got to the line really well to. I thought that was really positive.

Did Maaarion jusst come off groin injury?

After catching the game in an hour, several things came out to me.

First of all, it was interesting to see how a slashing 3 affected the play of the starters. Even though Miami had a lot of hot shooting from Wade and Cook, Barg's play really shifted the defense at times. Long term, I have the same concerns as others. After getting him to create a post game, people are asking him to become a 3 now. However, at least for one game, he managed to play the post when he shifted positions, while still being able to be aggressive in the SF position. Only problem is that he was playing Michael Beasley which is definitely not a test for him on either end of the court.

It was also extremely good to see Humphries get some burn. I think that having him out there will give the Raptors a lot more rebounding opportunities. Granted, it was against the Heat, and needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But I think Mitchell's gonna have to give him more consideration when the Raptors aren't rebounding as well.

I mentioned it in my preview after some guys wanted to ask me about it, but yeah, Solomon did fine. However, I'd caution everyone to really look at how the game flow was rather than just get blinded by his 11 assist stats (with 4 TO by the way). I've never liked to look at point guard stats just by themselves because (especially on this team) the point guard has to dictate the flow on offense and is often looked to make the pass that leads to the pass that gets to the bucket. A big indictment should be the fact that the Raptors had 20 turnovers as a team. It's definitely not all on Solomon's head, but I saw some increased defense from Roko Ukic for at least one game as he got better at doubling down against bigs and also chasing his man through screens. The ball just moves way quick with some actual purpose when he's on the floor, and it's a huge difference. I like Solomon's game though, just not at the 1. I still think he's a SG pretending to be a PG.

Wade Looks Good, Beasley and Marion Don't

I had a chance to go to the game...Bargnani was as good as I've ever seen him. If he's at the 3 he can still post his defender. There's no reason to say he can't because he's playing the "3". I definitely saw signs of a future all-star, but not this year obviously.

It's probably a good idea (as it always has been) to rotate Bosh, O'Neal, Bargnani, Humphries as the top four guys in terms of minutes at the 3,4,5. They can "hide" Bargnani's lack of foot speed against certain 3s who can take him off the bounce AND Kapono's lack of defense by playing their match-up zone, when necessary. Although the zone was ineffective in the 2nd Q yesterday, it definitely has the potential to be effective for 8-10+ minutes a game when required.

Also, mismatches work both ways! so a quicker 3 would have a tough time guarding Bargs or Hump down low and be in tough to keep them off the boards. This would mean less time for Moon, but that's fine because every opponent this year is following the same scouting report -"DON'T GUARD MOON" as Sam has him hanging outside on the perimeter and the Raptors play 4 on 5. Worse, Sam WANTS Moon to "be aggressive and take his open shots", so it's been hurting the team so far this year. I like Jamario and he's actually been shooting well so far, but I think he should be fighting it out for 5th on the 3,4,5spot depth chart with Joey (Behind Bosh, Bargs, Hump and O'Neal). This also means that Smitch needs to adjust the offense to focus on having to bigger and offensively gifted players like Bargs and Hump in alongside the other bigs and force opposing coaches to adjust to the Raptors schemes. If they stayed consistent with this type of approach it would pay dividends as the season progresses.

I listened to about 3 quarters of the game and the morning after, a few thoughts have come to mind given Kris Humphries play and how well Bargnani handled the 3 spot. Let me make my point by drawing an analogy of sorts. Maybe the Raptors under Sam Mitchell are like what happens when most people use software like the Microsoft Office Suite. There is a bunch of functionality built in that could make one's life easier and produce nicer looking results, but a lot of it is not utilized. This doesn't pose too much of a problem because the software does what we need it to do and when it doesn't we simply think it can't. Does that make sense? Bringing it back to a Raptors' context, when Colangelo conceived and constructed the team, how did he imagine it being used? Mitchell can get results from this team even if he doesn't use all of its functionality, but I'm suggesting there is an inherent disconnect between what Colangelo thinks can be done with the parts and what Mitchell does with them. Bargnani at the 3 was something Colangelo hinted at as early as the summer. Extending Humphries was looked upon with a few head scratches. The trend toward not even trying to use Graham seems nonsensical. Why spend money on parts you don't use when you are so restricted financially? As a fan, it's the wasting of resources, the stunting of player development, and as a consequence the diminished aesthetic of game play that bothers me. Maybe I'm being picky after a victory, and if the end result is a multi-round playoff run, why should I be complaining. Just a feeling that this whole team could look better than it does more often than not.

Beasley has looked good this season. For a rookie he has put up some good numbers (I've watched a few Heat games). Marion on the other hand.....

Still want to see more Joey!

Nice win. (Raptors game in an hour)

Bargs looked very good, even on D. However, he had Chalmers backed down on a switch deep in the paint and they failed to find him again.

If Sam is going to use the 3 bigs in the starting rotation they need to expose the mis-matches whether it is Bosh, JO or the Barnyard with a smaller guy on them.

Rebounding was improved.

Will and Roko looked decent. (haven't seen Roko shoot in a while though) Interested to see if he's improving.

Can't understand the Joey situation. Moon should be an energy guy off the bench.

By the way, Anyone notice that Hassan is up for the Red Rocket award as best towel waver after a run?

Marion's shot should be illegal.

Peace. Enjoy Vegas.

Three thoughts from Sec. 108:

1. Ukic and Solomon are mirror images. Ukic has great innate court vision but can't shoot a lick (an impoverished man's Jason Kidd); Solomon has a nice shooting touch but weak court vision (a la Mike James, who is now averaging 9 1/2 MPG on the Hornets. At least he's closer to his family).

2. Moon did seem to try to get to the basket more; however, instead of going up forcefully, he still was attempting to lay them in (missing both times he tried this -- fortunately, once time he was fouled, at least). I'm not sure how someone can make it to the slam dunk contest and be such a pansy contact-avoider during games. It's like trying to watch Kapono drive instead of jack up a jumper (and yes, Kap tried some failed dribble drives for the first half yesterday, until he got the message and finally hit that daggar three after JO's megablock). Talk about mirror images.

3. The 4-big rotation worked very nicely, JO covering for Barg's defensive shortcomings (in the first half) and Bosh's tiredness-and-focus-on-offence (in the 4th Q), as did Hump. Of course, as has been mentioned, when your only 7-footer is Mark Blount, you're gonna have problems in the paint. Oh yeah, I checked on various sites and Beasley is listed as either 6'9 or 6'10, which is ridiculous because JO, Bosh and Bargs simply towered over him. I know they measure them in shoes, but they might have measured Beasley in heels. Good size for a SF, though.

good point jjdynomite, about moon and his pansy ass drives. I was thinking the same thing watching him.

everybody was all happy about him finally taking it to the rack, but damn, he looked down right scared taking it up there, trying to avoid contact as much as possible.

and that's the ticket. the kids never gonna turn into the players we as fans want, or that his teammates and coaches want because it's just not in him. the boys just scared. they can't all be d-wade's.

and why joey got no burn is confusing, for sure. he's played well with the minutes he's been given. very aggressive. can't imagine this is what BC had in mind when he extended his contract.

There's a lot of talk here about what Colangelo had in mind when he constructed this team. Since he is ultimately the man in charge of this team (not Sam) why aren't we seeing it? Colangelo is a man of action so I can assure you if he has concerns with the way the team is being coached, he has addressed them with Sam. Was starting Bargnani one of the things he demanded from Sam? How about giving Humps more minutes? What about not giving Joey any?

This might be a dumb question, but if the Orlando Magic can can start front court featuring Superman, Lewis, and Turkoglu, why can't the Raptors expect to have similar success with Bosh, O'Neal, and Bargs? Obviously there is no Superman on the Raps, but I think the two front courts are somewhat comparable in many ways.

Flying J the answer to your question is probably that VanG is a far superior overall coach than our Smitch. If Smitch coached the Magic, Turkoglu and Lewis would be reduced to fringe players because Howard was F'ing up the teams only play the high P&R

Funny response, ZoneD. Unfortunately, I agree with you. I am trying to be unbiased when considering Smitch. In fact, I'm usually biased in favour of the underdog, but there are some facts that cannot be ignored:

(1) The Raptor's do not seem to run a variety of coherent plays. I am not an educated basketball mind, and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star assures me that Smitch knows more than all of us about ball, but I just don't see a discernible game plan or plays often enough. People on this site are often craving for an 'identity' for the Raps, and waiting for the day that it emerges. In my opinion, this is something that the coach brings to a team.

(2) His demeanour with the media is embarassing. This doesn't really matter as much, and a lot of coaches are tongue-in-cheek and mildly ornery in their interactions with the media. However, Sam is often rude, mean, and overly emotionally involved. It is not endearing in the least. Even Doug Smith, one of his great apologists, has remarked that if only Sam elaborated on his reasoning, we would understand what a great coach he was.

(3) Coaches make a difference! The Knicks are 6-4. Their overall talent level is lower than the Raptors, and on top of that, two of their supposedly more talented players are permanently benched. Unfortunately, Smitch winning COY really hamstrung Colangelo.

Its not entirely black and white, and the Raptors can still do very well this year. But I am worried that he is a limiting factor.

Sam has ruined Joey G. again.

The guy comes in, rebounds, drives, hits his shots, and gets his ass sat down for a few games.

Maybe he will never "get it", but if he never sees the floor, he definitely won't. And he is the only 3 with the potential to do all that is needed from a 3. Bargs is a nice idea against the Heat, but will he will be torched by teams with great 3's. Hell, even Carter will have too much fun blowing by him and take him off the dribble.
It is crazy that the only time Joey G. got a chance was as a college 4 starting at the 3. Naturally, the better he gets, the more he should sit.

Of the top of my head, I'd say the Magic's front court is pretty similar in terms of playing a big SF type, similar to the Lakers with Odom.

Why ours doesn't work as well?

Turkoglu seems to play more of a facilitator role in Orlando, to the point where he was directing the offence at times in the half-court last year. Rashard Lewis is a sharp shooter, yet is also mobile enough to play SF. Dwight is Dwight (ie a dominating force when it comes to rebounding, blocking and dunking).

Short answer, I think there is less separation in terms of roles and skillsets with the Toronto bigs. Jermaine is great at blocking shorts, Bosh is good and Bargs is no slouch. Bargs can hit threes, Bosh has a deadly mid-range, O'neal can be a threat from there as well. O'neal and Bosh are both good rebounders. They can all play D in the post. They can all guard centers if needed.

What this means to me is that it'll take longer for them to figure out how to co-exist on the court, and divide up roles they are not used to sharing.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2008/11/17/7434361-sun.html

Picked this article up off raptorblog.com

You guys get some props, but the article mentions how Franchise, Howland and "Viscious D" write on the site. I would be embarassed to have a Sun article on me if my handle was "Viscious D". Dude, you MUST change it. It's weaker than the weak-arm of a four year old girl.

On the Smitch issue, I think the D'an-turnaround in New York is a pretty good example of what good coaching can do, but I think I have an even better example. The Spurs have now won 4 of 5 without Manu AND Parker (W's against Knicks, Rockets, Kings, and Clips, L vs Bucks) . You take away Jose and JO from the Raps (think this is the most relevant comparison, but I suppose you could say Calderon and Bosh) for 5 games and we lose 4 minimum (against the same teams). Popovic has got guys like Mason Jr, George Hill (who?) and Bonner playing out of their minds. I don't think that even the firmest Smitch backer would argue he was capable of such a feat. Then why, oh why, are you satisfied with him? If better coaches exist, why not bring them in? I entirely agree that the COY was a curse for this team, of the same nature as VC (in the later days).

The Knicks will not make the playoffs and Pops has built his system for how many years? Bad examples.

Branden - too early to start on Mitch.