Tip In, Raptors' Post Game: LeBron Brawn

Missed the game last night so curious to hear everyone's thoughts. Is everyone counting down the days until December 15th as much as I am?

The game was ugly and you could just sense the utter lack of ability to turn the tide to Raps favor. Nothing came easy and whoever tries to argue that we have a group of players that can 'compete', well... An inaccurate and wrong perception. Anyone read Ludden's column on yahoo? http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AskeUFv9ff5v7F8PMmgaRL28vLYF?slug=jy-boshraptors120908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Any comments on the following quote: "Before he was a guy that got a max deal that wasn’t a max-impact winner," said one West scout. "He’s moved up, but he still hasn’t turned them into consistent winners like LeBron or Tim Duncan. In that sense, he’s more like Emeka Okafor."

Brutal.

Cleveland look ready to compete with the best. Lebron looks like the most dominant player in the world. Watch out!

Time to right the ship tonite. Get back on track.

Yeah moon need to be benched for the rest of the season. Solomon is not a back up pg. Bargs needs to stop playing SF.

And Franchise I doubt BC makes a trade until AFTER the West Coast Swing.

Happy to see Rasho 2nite!

I sure am!...its gonna be two christmases this year for raptors fans. Colangelo is pretty much forced to do something now, unless this team goes on a mini run before the 15th, unlikely but even if they do I still see a trade or two happening. As one of the other readers mentioned, no one should be untouchable in terms of trading pieces, and while you could argue that bosh and calderon are probably not going anywhere, everyone else should be considered if there is a trade that can make this team better...cause this current make up isnt winning a championship anytime, or a playoff round.

In terms of last nights game, if you're a lebron fan you missed quite a display of his amazing athleticism as well as swagger (basically cockiness) He single handidly embarassed the raptors last night. So for us raps fans, it might of been a good game to miss. It hurt watching Lebron do the mailman dunk as well as about 9 other easy dunks in transitition. It looked like lebron was playing against a high school team basically. Honestly for the most part of that game, other then garbage time and the run in the 2nd, the raptors looked like they didnt belong in the same league as the cavs.

I still think we should all be concerned about bosh too. He doesnt have that same tenacity he was displaying for hte first 15 games, he just seems complacent with his play, and frustrated with the play of the team as a whole. This slump started shortly after he went on recrod saying he wanted to be MVP this season. Maybe that didnt sit to well with his teammates cause it went from being all about winning as a team to Chris bosh wanting to get his (mvp trophy)
Right now there just seems to be a lot going on in raptorland, you've got the coaching change, the losing streak, bosh wanting to be MVP as well as the fact that you know colangelo is looking to make some moves so there is probably some concern about whether or not some guys will still be with this team in a couple weeks.

Anyways thats my take on the raps current situation...im counting down the days till the 15th thats for sure.

Franchise,
Very regular reader of your blog, great blog I must say.

I saw the first half, they started awful (2 dunks by Lebron), and then actually started playing like the Raptors know how to play in the 2nd. Can't explain whats wrong with them, they just can't get it together.

I also read your piece about Maggette et al from Golden State, Dec 15th is my bro's bday and I'm praying you're right and BC pulls off some sort of miracle trade. Kapono/Moon/Parker are on the block, and if need be Bargs depending on what we get back.

Here's hoping the Raps pull off a miracle and get a TRUE starting SG.

Good recap Vicious...you read my mind.
You raised a lot of good points that echoed my comments (to the TV) during the game.

- Moon is regressing faster than he can jack up a 3. He needs to sit or be traded. For now....sit. If there's garbage time, put him in.

- The "Bargs at the 3" experiment needs to end now. The starting unit with Bargs at the 3 doesn't have the quicks to defend fresh starting lineups. Let's get him back at the backup PF. In fact, let's bring him off the bench early to give Bosh some rest so that he can start looking rejuvinated.
IN FACT, if Bosh needs a bigger rest (is his knee an issue) let's start Bargs at the PF and bring Bosh in off the bench!

- Joey has earned a starting spot at the 3 (much to my surprise). Let's give it to him and ask him to start trying to lock down the other teams 3. This improves our bench with Bargs being able to go at backup players.

- When Parker needs a rest let's try something new with Solomon.... bring him in at the 2 with Roko and let Roko push the pace and decide whether Solomon gets the touch or not.

So against the Pacers I'm looking for Triano to mix it up with a starting lineup of Calderon, Parker, Graham, Bosh and O'neal with a quick trigger for bringing Bargs in for Bosh and then starting a 3 player rotating PF/C with Bosh, O'neal and Bargs with the occassional Graham at the 4. Most importantly....Moon needs to sit until he "gets it", if he ever does.

Here's hoping TJ doesn't go supernova!

Missed the game but listened to the 4th quarter while driving home. Smith and Jones were joking around and seemed to be completely disinterested in the game. It was brutal all the same.

ONE LAST THING I FORGOT TO MENTION!!

LET'S SEE SOME TOUGHNESS!! SOME HARD FOULS TO END ALL THESE "POINTS IN THE PAINT" WE'RE GIVING UP!! NO EASY POINTS!!

that's all for now.

I almost never turn off a raptors game, but i chose to shovel 20cm of snow off my driveway than to watch the 4th quarter!

this has been such a tough stretch, it's hard to remember that the raps may just be getting out played by better teams and are not really all that demoralized... I mean the cavs haven't lost at home all year I don't think, not exactly a game you can expect a struggling team to use as a breakout game. tonight however should be telling, it really should be a win or as close as the nets and blazer losses... if the raps get blown out, I'm getting really worried about the season...

Can everyone agree now that Smitch wasn't the issue here? Now don't get me wrong, he was going to be fired (as all coaches do)and I would have been okay with that, but the timing was bad. Why not wait until the Raps passed this strech of games till we hit the easier patch of the schedule?

Firing of Smitch gave me some deja vu emotional moments. It reminded me of the time I dumped an ex. She was fairly hot, the kind that turned heads in a club, but still within the upper edges of "my league". Great in the sack, but annoying as heck. We both knew there was nothing long-term (well at least I knew), but the crazy annoying things she did, got more annoying to me. Eventually I had to pull the "it's not you it's me" bit, knowing full well it was her. Fast forward a little bit and started dating a new chick. Definitely not as hot, but very cute, and everything was just okay. But not long after, I discover she was just equally annoying, but in different ways. Now this was more in my youth, but the lesson learned was that... It REALLY was ME and not THEM.

Maybe the problem just might be that this team is now actually trying something new as JO discussed in the Toronto Sun yesterday. Smitch will never be the answer, unless he actually creates a play here and there.

ustation - Nope. I don't think so. I think if you leave Sam in for longer the complacency to continue doing outside shots and slow half court sets would have completely set in. At this point at least Colangelo will have some better bargaining power because guys like Kapono and Graham are exhibiting some better stats.

I don't think there's really ever a good time to fire a coach. But using a variation of your analogy, it's better to dump a girl once you know it's not going to work out, because you're just holding yourself back from moving on and finding someone new. Otherwise, you'll just string it out looking for the "best opportunity" to do it, and that never really happens until you've wasted lots of energy, money, and emotion.

Triano’s major problem right now is that most of the players on our roster have only played for one NBA head coach: Sam Mitchell. Combine that with the fact that 29 coaches run a similar style of defence (with Mitch being the only exception) and with the history of our limited offensive sets over the past 4-5 years, JT is going to have a very tough time getting these guys to adapt to his new system (which, oddly, is the league-wide standard). Colangelo may not have a choice but to bring in new blood and get players who have played this style of basketball or this season may slip away quickly.

really enjoy reading your recaps Vicious D!

this team makes my head hurt and as much as i want to toss in my thoughts on them it just makes it worse.

definitely counting down the days to the 15th.

Raptoronto - Totally agree. It's really going to take some time for the team to get used to the new offense…which makes you wonder a bit if firing Mitchell now, as opposed to after this month, was a good plan. I mean, I’d like someone to ask BC if adding instability to your leadership structure via a new coach, is a good idea right before the toughest part of the schedule when your team is struggling as is.

PS – From David Thorpe’s chat wrap today:

Chris Bosh, Toronto: Feels like a trade is imminent.. Who can the Raptors possibly bring in to help me out? (Because if they don't do anything, they can start printing the "LBJ + CB4 = New banner at MSG" T-shirts).

David Thorpe: (12:12 PM ET ) I've said repeatedly that Linas Kleiza is the guy there for Toronto.

We are adjusting to new systems on a fly against the elite of the league. The results are to be expected.
We think too much instead of playing by instinct thus turnovers and missed rebounds as we don't position properly.
It is baptism by fire and only the strong will survive. BC said he's looking to make roster changes based on cap situation, which tells me we'd like to trade Kapono and/or Hump. The only other tradeable assets might be AP and Graham as expiring however we'd be extremely thin at the wings. Maybe it's better to wait and see how do players respond to the new coaching requirements - let's say until trade deadline and then make a move.
One more word about Moon: I said it last season too: he has always been at best a marginal NBA player. Howver now you can see how he's trying to improve his numbers to get an NBA contract knowing he's in the doghouse and regardless of the team needs. Right now he's absolutely awful.

kleiza???? An upgrade, maybe underused in denver but not the solution. And who would we move to get him?

@Fromlongrange:

Allow me to answer that question:

To Denver: Anthony Parker + 2009 Lottery Protected 1st rounder

To Toronto: Linas Kleiza + Chris Anderson + Anthony Carter.

I think this deal really helps Toronto. Kleiza is a tough baller who can score and rebound. The Birdman is crazy and is all over the offensive glass and Carter is a vet who can distribute in limited minutes.

Denver gets a vet with an expiring deal who can play D and occasionally shoot the lights out. And they get a conditional pick to sweeten the deal.

You know BC loves to give away picks for players.

The only problem I see is that the Denver ownership group is very hesitant to ship Kleiza anywhere. I seem to recall their unwillingless to move him being the major sticking point in a rather sweet deal (possibly for Gasol? or Odom? I can't remember exactly, but I do know that it was the owners, not the GM, who wouldn't let go of Kleiza).

Franchise - I actually agree with the timing of Sam's dismissal. We very likely lose all the same games with Sam as headcoach. If you promote Jay just before some winnable games then we risk losing those games strictly due to the transition...at least now Triano would have had some time to establish his style and roles for his players before a stretch of truly winnable games.

Casey, that trade proposal fills some gaps but also creates others...getting rid of parker and not getting a shooting guard in return is not really an option cause right now he is the only one who can even do a somewhat decent job on the likes of guys like wade, carter, kobe etc...i mean graham can to an extent on some of the bigger wings in the league but i dont see graham matching up with wade very well. So who starts at the 2 for the raps then? Kapono? i just dont see that trade working unless you get a suitable shooting guard in return.

The Raptors bench is simply a joke in the league...There is no good players on the bench..I can't wait for Dec 15 to see what BC does ....he is the one that got these players, Babcock could have done better in my opinion....why did he sign Solomon I have no idea he is useless wonder why he was in the Euro league for so long...Moon let me down this year, he will not get another contract in the NBA the guy is simply afraid of contact...Its a contract year Moon you better start doing something to show BC that you are worth the league minimum next year..tip..drive...Hasan Adams the guy can't even shoot..good pickup BC...and all that money for Kapono who can't even create his own shot...he needs to be traded for an athletic wing player...Roko will be a good point guard but right now he should be the 3rd pg on the team...so we need a back up point guard and a 15-20pt a night wing player...

Back to the game last night I know Lebron is a great player but last night I watch Bosh just let him blow by him with ease on a couple of dunks as if he is Moon afraid of contact...someone needs to go up and meet King James at the bucket (I bet Humphries would have gone up their with him)..he will probably dunk on you but a hard foul would send a message to the rest of the team that someone needs to play defence...where is OAKs when we need him.

Here is an interesting read from the Sun that I totally agree with and have been my sentiments since BC traded TJ..

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2008/12/10/7692411-sun.html

The sun is saying that trading TJ was a big mistake...
It should be fun to watch TJ and Jose go at it tonight...TJ will eat him up, Jose does not have the swagger that TJ has, TJ is a real NBA player...on the other hand Jose is a converted NBA player which is a big difference...Hope the Raps can pull it off tonight because with this squad no one knows what will happen..but losing to the Pacers tonight and we might as well play for the lottery.....Raps4Life

one thing I'm taking as a positive is all the talk about video sessions. this is something sam never talked about - and it often seemed like they didn't watch themselves, because they do the same mistakes over and over...

well here we go...all this talk about how tj is going to eat jose up.

I say bullocks.

the very thing that made him so dangerous, his speed, is the very same thing that made most of us want to punch our tv's. and his 'swagger'????

don't make me bring up space mountain! (who apparently is part of the trade going down between memphis, new orleans, and someone else. what is that, 5 trades in 2 years??)

so yeah, he'll beat jose a few times tonight. (maybe more.) but that resentment is what's going to allow the raps to pull a win off tonight.

and never the mind TJ - how good would rasho be on this right now? that calm presence, the reliable d. the humor. ugh.

Isn't it amusing that we were playing the exact same mediocre basketball with both Rasho and TJ in the lineup last season, yet some people act like these two would have been the saviours of this year's team. It is going to take us a while to break the old Smitch habits, but once they start understanding/ playing a system (which they are finally starting to do) we will start to see improvements. I would much rather have JO on our roster then these two guys. This team needs some chemistry. Both Bosh, JO and Jose have all commented in the news the last few days that the team is struggling trying to understand this new system. JO said he loves it (because he is used to playing it), but that the others who have been used to playing Smitch's way will take some time to adjust to.

I meant to say "than", not "then"

Assistant GM: I never said rasho could be a 'savior'. just a solid, reliable guy coming off the bench who plays defense. and who's calm presence when things are in the craper, would be a bonus.

The saviour comment was more directed towards the TJ vs. Jose camp. I guess your last comment about Rasho tossed him into my thoughts while writing my comment. My bad!

I was just looking at the schedule for the next few games and the Raps could have a mini win streak leading up to the west coast road trip which I think the Raps will finish 4 and 2 or better (Indiana.... W @ New Jersey.. W.. vs New Orleans at home.. W vs New Jersey again W vs Dallas should be another W all the Raps have to do is play some defence against these opponents. 4 out of those 5 games will be at home so with some help form the Raps faithful there is no reason why the Raps can't turn this thing around. If they do they will be going on the Road with confidence for the next 6 and the only really tough team in that trip is Portland and the Spurs thus the 4-2 prediction. Guess we will just have to wait and see what Raps team show of for JT. But I am pretty confidence with a win tonight things will start turning around for the Dinos....Raps4Life.

Don't get me going on the "we're better off with TJ" line of thinking. Those who are saying that haven't watched him in Indiana.

Perfect example, Indiana's win over LA last week. Final play, Pacers down 1, TJ at the top dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, not looking for Granger but waiting to try and go 1 on 5. He then puts his head down and dribbles into the corner into double coverage, almost loses the ball, and only thanks to Rasho do the Pacers retain possession and get off the eventual game-winning tip-in.

No thanks to Ford.

If he was here, we'd all be having the exact same issues with game-management as we had last year.

I supported Ford up until the end but to say that we'd be better off with him still rather than Jose is insane.

I could barely get through the 1st half. What video are these guys watching....box the F out!!!!Somebody please. Basic principles...understand them or sit down. AND STOP watching the ball so much that you can't realize your man has left you and is wide open for and easy bucket...worry about your own man for once!

Daniel - I've been of the same proponent. Since last year, I've ragged on Moon for shoddy shot selection and an inconsistent free throw percentage. Then his defense. This year, he just hasn't made any changes, and I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw that last year.

AGM - I couldn't agree more about your feelings. When we see the Raptors play the style that Triano wants, they do more than just get dangerous against the best teams. It's up to this team to figure out how to extend that play for a full game and not regress back to their old styles.

Let it be known,

The Raptors will be 70-12 this year.

Bank on it!

yay, finally a bad team to tune up on!!

hard to believe this is the same team we've been watching

hopefully they get it going now

TJs speed was nice... but I have to agree with Franchise that his game management was awful and his "get my shot at any cost" mentality was definitely frustrating. It was a real roller coaster ride with TJ at the point.

On to more important things...

1. Where has THAT Jamario been this entire season? Someone or some thing lit a fire under his ass and got him back to the role player we've been missing. Still jacking the shot way too much, but at least he was moving the right spots and playing killer D. While it was nice to see, we're going to need to see it again AND AGAIN to believe it.

2. Looks like all it took to get Bosh back to his old self was a little T.L.C. from Triano with a pre-game shoot around (anyone else catch that). They're so cute. I still think Bosh's knee is bothering him more than he's letting on, but a solid game for him for the most part.

3. Did Kapono just bounce Parker from the starting lineup for the rest of the season with those silky little runners in the lane?? Oh no you di-ent! This interesting little side plot should be fun to watch. Kapono's silky runners vs. Parker's "quadruple screen but still can't slip my defender so I nail a killer tough jumper off the currl". I get tired just watching everything he has to do just to get a shot off with a hand in his face.

4. I'd like to thank Jay Triano for taking my advice from yesterday's blog entry and pairing Roko at the 1 and Solomon at the 2. And I'd like to ask him NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN!! IN FACT NEVER PLAY SOLOMON AGAIN!! I'm sure Solomon will have a stellar game down the road and make me eat my words... but man that was ugly.

5. Is it too late to vote Joey for leader of the coalition?

6. Was anyone else jumping out of their seat on that fast break Kapono 3 that didn't quite drop when the raps were ramping up? The ACC would have gone bananas had that thing dropped.

7. Bargs? Baaaarrrrgs! Andrea? Has anyone seen a 7 foot Italian guy with a deadly shot from 3 anywhere?
Baaaaarrrrrrgggs!

Okay, in all reality this was a game that the raps SHOULD have won by a mile. The Pacers are a hurting squad with some decent pieces but no real studs. That said, this was a fun game to watch.....finally.

The Raps played much better, but they've got a tough matchup for Jose coming up with Devin Harris. This kid can light it up and will be running circles around Jose in all likelihood. Help D will be the order of the day.

And here's hoping Carter decides to drive the lane and Joey makes him 'never want to dunk again' if you catch my drift!

CONGRATULATIONS JAY TRIANO!!
I love that guy.