Tip-In, Toronto Raptors’ Post-Game: The Weight of Expectations

I am really looking forward to the Clips game. I almost wish we could bench all of our bigs, tape their eye-lids open and make them watch Camby swallow rebounds. Dude had 27 rebounds last night, to go with 4 blocks might I add. He is going to destroy Moon, Bosh, JO and Bargs on the glass. I think JO had one game this year approaching or maybe even hitting 20 rebounds, to put that in perspective. And Bosh, you could only dream my friend. Early prediction for that one, a big L that ends up being a simple matter of offensive rebounds for the Clips. But how bold is it to suggest the Raps will lose a game on the glass? Agree with you on the OKC game Franchise, could really by the inflection point for the season. Lose to them and who knows where we bottom-out.

JO -1.7, RU -3.7, AP -4.4, AB -4.9, JK -6.9, JG -8.7 . That's all we need to know. 6 of out top 9 players are NOT competitive enough.

Was thinking about my earlier post while grabbing a shower just now. I think I want to increase the boldness of my original prediction regarding the Clips game. I think Camby will numerically out-rebound JO, Bosh and Bargs (who totaled 19 last night). I also think Camby should be allowed to put each of them over his knee on national television and give them a literal spanking too, assuming this happens.

The Thunder will win 10-12 games this season. Those 10-12 wins will come against teams like the struggling Raptors...

The Raps will not lose to Thunder, the Raps will not lose to Thunder, the Raps will not lose to Thunder...tap, tap, tap.

note to self: go to rapshq BEFORE realgm

I just came from there after railing against the booing going on at the ACC. what kind of fan boos when their below .500 team is getting beat by a Dallas? It shows a complete lack of NBA knowledge.

Anyways,this analysis is a breath of fresh air, though if the raps are going to recover, the sense that the fans are actually "fans of the team" would help.

To add to your comments, look at the kick the balls the schedule maker is giving us.

These are just losses
* teams raps are on par with based on last two seasons

Wed, Nov 5 Detroit L 93-100
Fri, Nov 7 @ Atlanta L 92-110 *
Mon, Nov 10 @ Boston L 87-94
Wed, Nov 12 Philadelphia L 96-106 *
Tue, Nov 18 @ Orlando L 90-103
Fri, Nov 21 New Jersey L 127-129 *
Sun, Nov 23 Boston L 103-118
Sun, Nov 30 @ LA Lakers L 99-112
Tue, Dec 2 @ Denver L 93-132
Fri, Dec 5 @ Utah L 87-114
Sun, Dec 7 Portland L 97-98
Tue, Dec 9 @ Cleveland L 94-114
Sun, Dec 14 New Orleans L 91-99
Mon, Dec 15 New Jersey L 87-94 *
Wed, Dec 17 Dallas L 86-96

so four games raps really should have picked up if they had any momentum

compare that with cleveland's cakewalk and this is just december, they've had it easy all year - with that sched, the raps would be in fine shape:

cleveland
Wed, Dec 3 NY Knicks W 118-82 *
Fri, Dec 5 Indiana W 97-73 *
Sat, Dec 6 @ Charlotte W 94-74 *
Tue, Dec 9 Toronto W 114-94 *
Wed, Dec 10 @ Philadelphia W 101-93 *
Fri, Dec 12 Philadelphia W 88-72 *
Sat, Dec 13 @ Atlanta L 92-97 *
Wed, Dec 17 @ Minnesota W 93-70 *
Fri, Dec 19 @ Denver
Sun, Dec 21 @ Oklahoma City *
Tue, Dec 23 Houston
Thu, Dec 25 Washington *
Sun, Dec 28 Miami *
Tue, Dec 30 @ Miami *

Great post Axl - totally agree. Give the Raptors the Cavs' schedule and things probably look a lot closer to .500.

I think if everyone starts viewing this club for what they are, a decent but not great squad who will be competing for a final playoff spot, then suddenly things aren't so bad. As I mentioned in the recap, fundamentally this is the same team as the last two seasons with the same flaws. Hopefully though Colangelo can address some of these in the off-season or before the trade deadline, draft well, and then go from there.

Raps fans booing Bosh ... yikes! I was happy to hear them boo the poor rebounding though - that was totally called for. i can't count the amount of time there were 5 mavs and 0 raps going for a rebound.

How do you score 33 in 1 quarter then 30 in the next 2? Every time we start off strong against Dallas I cringe. When was the last time the raps DIDN'T blow a 10+ lead to this team?

I'm happy to read a post, after a loss, that focuses on the good.

Seems like it has been all downhill for this team since Garbo broke his leg. Those damn Celtics again!

wow, things are getting ugggggly. I haven't see this kind of down and out stuff since, well, a long time ago. even the mike james years were happier times than these.

expectations were just too high. the MVP talk was premature. the house of cards is shaking. and like you said franchise, a loss to the thunder could knock the whole thing over in a quick minute.

not too pleased with bosh's take on the crowd last night. if you're the franchise player, and you're getting beat night in and night out against the best of the best, (and even by some of the worst) you should be booing your damn self. tired? really? cause last time I checked that olympic teammate of yours down in miami had the same schedule over the summer and is now somehow keeping his even worse supporting cast above .500 all by himself.

get.it.done...son.

Ok today I'm pissed off. And I'm pissed off at you. That's right you the fans. I listened to the first Q of the game and turned it back on just as Bosh got to his first trip to the line in the 4th Q, and I heard a smattering booing. I thought they must be booing something else on the court, the ref, anything but CB right? Then he missed two and the boos rang louder.

In the words of the Swirsk. Are you kidding me?? Are you freaking kidding me?? They're booing CB4?

Are these the same idiotic fans that'll be booing Mats Sundin when he comes back?

Why the heck would I as a professional athelete want to play for you fans? As Bosh said, "If I wanted to be booed, I'll play on the road".

Now I hope he leaves, and you people get the team you deserve. I'm tired of Toronto fans period. Go cheer for the Clippers, or do what you do best and badwagon jump on the successful team of the day. Go move to LA! But whatever you do, just leave, forget reading the blogs and leaving your 2 cents on the comments, forget showing up at ACC, forget fighting the TSN2 fight, pack up your bags, return your knock off jersey of Calderon, dump the free bobble head doll of Kirs Humphries, and never be a sports fan again. And if the Raps ever are successful, don't show up, don't jump back on the bandwagon, leave them playoff tickets to real fans who understand something about the game vs the what have you done for me lately jackoffs.

If you can't take the bad times, you don't deserve the good. Buy yourself a Lakers Jersey.

end rant

Franchise, with all due respect i believe you are too nice with CB4: the dude has been atrocious in the last 10 games. He was outplayed by every single opponent PF and he sets up the tone by settling for jumpers.
This team is build to play inside-out: dump the ball high or low post to CB4, JO or AB and either take it strong to the rim or pass out to our perimeter shooters when the double comes. CB4 and AB do not bring it leaving the entire team in shambles. I believe it's more a matter of execution than roster make-up.
Of course we will not trade CB4, even though he is not and he should never have been considered a franchise player, now or in the future. He is just too soft for a big and could be easily shut down: the Olympics proved his best role is to be, well, a great role player. I love him for his work ethic and sense of maturity but b-ball wise he is a second-tier player.
Which means we need either above average players at all positions (a la Detroit pre-Iverson) or a true franchise player. I'm sure the management hoped AB will be that killer player in the crunch, one-of-a-kind offensive C. I cannot fault them for betting the house to get him, notwithstanding the fact that right now it looks like we lost the bet with devastating consequences.
I don't think anyone has any realistic idea what to do with this team because it is not clear what's ailing us: we should be a much better rebounding team, we should be a much better conditioned team, we should be a much better shooting team, we should be a much better defensive team. Of course games are not played on paper however we should be abetter overall team. If the mental toughness is the issue then I have no idea how you correct it as it is hard to ascertain it in any individual player as they play in a team context.
It's really tough to be BC right now.

I think the booing comments are very interesting...

I was at Monday's game and all the boos were saved for VC (note to "fans": it was FIVE years ago. Get over it)

Watched last night's game and they were booing CB4...

Now, I wasn't happy with last night's loss (and I'm not really happy with the team right now) BUT....

If you're going to boo, boo a poor performance due to lack of effort (i.e. Monday's game) against a subpar club rather than a loss to a team we probably should lose to....

I mean, Monday, we got outrebounded (by 24, no less) by a front line that consists of a rookie who is in love with comic books, the Chinese version of Bargs and Neo's alter-ego from the Matrix....that's pathetic.

Yet, the only boos I heard were reserved for Mr. Carter (and, no, not Weezy or Jay)

Maybe the fans who booed on Wednesday were upset because they didn't get free pizza, or because Canadian Idol was cancelled, or because some idiot in their section booed and they didn't understand why so to avoid looking like the odd person out, they booed as well...

The only silver lining of this is that maybe these struggles will boot the casual fan out the door (you know, the one who shows up for the Lakers game in a Kobe jersey, yet cheers for the Raps) and leaves this team to the fans who read and write on this blog on a daily basis.

wow, can't believe Fizzle made Doug Smith's blog:

Fizzle: Toronto sends: Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono to LA Clippers....

Doug Smith: Wherever you are, I suggest you seek professional help. And if I get many more like this, I will, too.

Thank God for Rogers and TSN. Lets hope that they can beat up on OKC Friday.

Daniel, look at PFs in the league, there's hardly one that can't and doesn't get shut down on a given night. You just can't expect a pf to take a team on it's back scoring all the time, bigs are involved in a game long wrestling match, unlike a small.

Bosh has had rare success with it because of his jump shot, it sucks his defender in and allows him to beat him off the dribble. But without the shot, there's no dribble drive.

Now I wouldn't mind seeing the jump hook a little more, or jose could hook him up a little quicker on the mismatches but really bosh's game is his game - he can't stop shooting.

If you look at his play even in high school, it's the same.

If anything, it begs the question: why do we have 5 power forwards on this team?

Bosh, JO, Bargs, Hump, Jawai, are all arguably pfs even if we play them as Cs even joey can be considered an undersized 4...

Axl, just to name a few: Mr. Fundamental, Boozer, West. They don't get shut down easily because they have a "power" game in addition to their "forward" (i.e.jumper) game.CB4 is great finesse big however good defences will easily stop finesse bigs, especially in a series. JO is also a finesse offensive big therefore we have no one to play strong at or above the rim. Is this a formula for success? The answer is historicaly not however BC thought he can change the history.

I agree that I don't like home town crowds booing their own team. However, I don't agree with players like Bosh (who I do love by the way) complaining about it to the media when the team has not lived up to expectations and does not put forth a consistently strong effort.

How can you complain about the Toronto fans when we are 9th in average attendance in the entire league? Ahead of Boston, New Orleans, Denver.

We're averaging between 3000 - 5000 more fans per game than teams with similar records like Philadelphia, New Jersey, Indiana.

Maybe they're not booing there (although I suspect in places like Philly they might be), they're just not showing up.

Where would you rather play as a pro athlete? Want it to change - dig down deep and start playing the way you're capable of. Play with some pride. Don't allow someone to hand your butt to you on your home court. Play the way you're expected to. Put forth some effort. Or get ready for nice, quiet, empty home crowds.

End of my rant.

like a wise old smitch used to say: 'I'm glad they're booing, it means they still care.'

when people stop showing up to the games, and stop writing about them, (good or bad) then that's something to worry about.

a little tough love never hurt no one. (unless it does, in which case you're a big ass dandellion to begin with.)

daniel - the players you mention have plenty of other clutch scoring options on their team, they're hardly expected to carry the team like bosh is... pfs just can't usually do this, for the reason I mentioned.

my point is more mechanics, if bosh is not hitting open jumpers, his man moves back a couple feet, giving him reaction time if bosh tries to drive. Now the net is only so high and every NBA pf cam get up that high, so there's really no going over top of him, and if he's sagged off, obviously bosh is not getting in front of the defender and his chances of getting blocked if he goes straight at the rim are very high as we've seen happening lately. If he adjusts mid air, his chances to make the basket go way down and lately it seems like the refs aren't giving him the "respect" calls either.

I'm only taking issue with bosh, everyone else should be forcing the issue and not giving up just because they don't get a call or the ball rims out. If they go early and often, the refs will have to start calling defensive fouls eventually even if the ball doesn't start going down. Same with offensive fouls, if you only drive once a game (calderon), that arm bar is going to get called, but if you're doing it all game, you're going to get away with a few because refs like to call fouls, but they rarely foul players out of the game. I mean look what paul pierce gets away with contact-wise, he can practically dry-hump a guy right to the hoop.

Daniel - I've been tough on Bosh on nights when he was playing well but not attacking more or exploiting match-ups etc. But last night the kid just couldn't buy a basket.

Also, as much as Bosh is a stud, he's just not (and I don't think ever will be) on the same level as Wade.

Plus, Wade has had some rough nights as well and the team hasn't backed him up.

Check out the Heat’s loss to Memphis recently – Wade was 5 of 16 and therefore his club lost to a team they should easily have beaten.

franchise, good point. but we're not the ones who stood around and said they were playing for MVP this season. so if you're going to come out and say that kind of stuff, you gotta play like that stuff. and comparing yourself to the likes of wade and bron is part of the package too.

so yeah, wade's had some bad games. but I'm pretty sure he's had way more of the 'gonna put this team on my back right now and not lose this one' kind of games, also.

but listen, I'm geting on bosh a bit here but really, the kids a player. and I want him around, no doubt. he's going to need help though. as everybody's saying.

I was out of town the last few days and didn't have the pleasure of watching the NJ or NO games. Last night was my first time at the ACC this season and here are some of my observations:

- There were a lot of empty seats in the crowd last night.

- when the Raps are on, they play really good basketball.

- when the Raps are off, well.....

- I actually didn't think they played poorly last night. Jose's defence was pretty good; JO was JO (the new leader of this team). A lot of people complain about him taking too many fadeaways, but at least they are 5 feet from the basket. I only wish that Bosh would fade from 5 feet instead of 15.

- Bosh is reverting to his former self; afraid of contact and shooting lazy jumpers. If he has an average performance and JK actually shoots a few more times, the Raps win.

- If Terry and Dirk miss two shots apiece in the 4th quarter, it’s a one possession game.

The reality here is that the Raps need to make a trade. We need a Josh Howard type of player. Watching him live and picturing him in a Raps uni last night gave me goosebumps. He would open up the game for everyone. I don’t blame Bargnani for his regressing as of late. He started off strong on offense at the beginning of the season, but making him a 3 has not only hindered his O, but having to guard quicker players and getting beat has affected his confidence. I agree that he has a lot of talent and can be a special player, but if I’m BC, I am considering sending him and another piece to a team for a Howard-like player. Dallas obviously has a Dirk and isn’t in need of his services. I am a patient fan and have seen some good signs since Sam was canned, but judging by the comments the last few weeks, by the empty seats at the ACC and the booing last night, Raps fans have lost patience!

The recent economic downturn may have something to do with the empty seats. Those seats aren't cheap.

WHY REAL FANS BOO

- REAL FANS BOO when they are not comped for lower bowl seats like patrons at most Leaf ACC games, and invest a fair bit of money, even in an economic downturn, to see the home team play, with the expectations of EFFORT and PERFORMANCE.

You wanna talk lack of effort, HQ Associate?

- REAL FANS BOO because they have not gotten their money's worth when their "stud" PF takes jumper-after-jumper and is 0 for 2 from 3PT land (and is shooting a stellar 30.7% from three for his career).

- REAL FANS BOO when they see a team consistently give up the lead in the 3rd and 4th quarters, showing absolutely zero killer instinct on their home court.

- REAL FANS BOO when the shortest player on the floor for the opposition (and a Puerto Rican to boot) gets the critical offensive rebound to seal the game.

---

In other words, those of you complaining about the booing fans, in my opinion are satisfied with mediocrity, let alone throwing your money away (if you are actually paying to see the games).

You wanna talk "bandwagon jumpers", ustation? Let's see the mid-four-figure sum on YOUR credit card statement for YOUR partial season's tickets, buddy. But I guess I am just a "casual fan", right HQ Associate? The "real fans" are the ones posting at RaptorsHQ. Funny, I don't seem to hear many of *you* talking about the games you actually pay to see live. Who are the "real fans", again?

Regarding games like Monday AND last night, if this weak on-the-floor product continues, expect less-and-less season ticket holders like myself to continue to shell out mid-four-figures a season to see games live. And the ones who continnue to spend money on an unsatisfactory product, more power to you. And keep on booing, because there ain't gonna be a refund like from a movie theatre if you leave 30 minutes in.

jj - no team has ever gotten to the top without doing its time at the bottom and in the middle. Besides that, this team is what it is and we've seen them play their style and win... if they lost like this to minnesota, yeah boo, but dallas, you say to yourself, 'at least I got to see dirk' and go on with your life...

the word 'effort' is far too reductive to sum up this team's problems.

1. schedule
2. sf lack of game
3. offensive regression of parker
4. coaching change
5. bargnani's motor
6. jose conservativesness
7. roko's lack of shot
8. too high of expectations
9. lack of clutch play
10. rebounding
...
192. cb's shooting %

sadly, I'll be throwing my money away on this "unsatisfactory" team a few more times this year

jj- I was a full season ticket holder from day one at Skydome till the season VC left. I spend most of my time coaching now and playing in my own league Fridays, so I can't go.

I'll defend your right to boo, but don't come-a-crying when your star player ditches you and no one wants to come here. You're okay with booing your franchise player who carried your team on his back for the first month and a bit?

Toronto fans are some of the most melodramatic peeps out there, you're right there with Philly Eagle fans and Red Sox fans. "OMG they're the worst/they're the best".

As Jack Armstrong put it, enjoy the process not the product. Y'all arn't gonna have much fun being an NBA fan if you don't have patience, cause most teams just don't do that well. As I've said before the NBA championship is the hardest one to win of all the major sports out there.

So go ahead, boo. See what kind of team you're gonna get in 2011! It's going to get much much worse before it gets better here folks when Bosh jets. You think this team is bad now?? You ain't seen nothing yet. It's gonna make the Mike James era look sweet.

I partially blame that on not having a draft pick the last two years.

I was booing the TV - does that count??? On Monday and last night. On more than 1 occasion this season I have turned off the TV in the 3rd quarter.

If I was paying even more than the 4$ a month I pay for Raps TV / TSN2 I would have been booing out loud. My boo's were all for the rebounding effort though. Actually - on two occasions I through out a "boo-urns" ;)

Does anyone think the Raptors players read this blog?

Here's some positives I see: 1. I like Ukic - he's going to be good.
2. O'Neal is starting to look good.
3. Graham running in a fast break is really good - and keeps the crowd in the game.
4. Bargnani's defence is MUCH improved since last year.
5. Triano's use of personel seems to be spot on.
6. No more purple!

Based on the last couple of weeks, Chris Bosh is on his way to becoming another Abdur-Rahim... 20/10 stats, looks good on most nights, but with no significant team accomplishments.

Also -- every time Jose Barea gets a rebound, the team deserves to be booed.

Why didn't we sign Artest again?

People, we all knew Sam Mitchell was pushing this teams engine into the 'red'. Now the engine is blown - just like a car.

Bosh and AP are COMPLETELY burned out. Jose and JO had some respite due to injuries, Jamario was smart and took a mental vacation; and the team decided in a group meeting that Sam should go - he was pushing the team engine too hard with a very tough schedule to boot. He focussed on getting wins - and he succeeded - now we are stuck with the cheque.

Frankly I wouls be happy to see Bosh sit for a month to recuperate, and let the rest of the team get thrown into the deep end - and either swim or drown.

Most likely they will drown.

I know good people payed good money to watch this team, and made a huge personal and emotional investment. But hey, thats the risk you take when you roll the dice to invest in seats at a stadium, or put your soul into something. It's not like you didn't know what the price of admission was when you walked through that door.

You pay for this, they sell you that... its like stock in a way. Congratulations you just bought tickets to a 'drowning' and a 'stress clinic'.

Perosnally the quicker they hit rock bottom the better - and here's hoping they survive it.

I hope this Velociraptor has gills.

ustation, you of all people should know considering you gave up your season's tix after VC left, that catering to Wince (and his Mom, and his boys like Palacio) gave us NOTHING IN RETURN except Joey Graham. So now we have to kiss Bosh's butt and not boo -- when he seems almost as scared as Jamario to go into the paint -- so HE'LL stay? And what, have a one-and-done playoff team like the Timberwolves did with KG for 7 or 8 seasons (the seasons when they actually made the playoffs?!) And KG has always been far better than Bosh, especially in terms of defense and leadership (or why would Boston trade for him, since AlJeff is almost as good an offensive player?)

I am tired of Toronto fans overvaluing their own assets. Look at the so-called faces of our three major league teams: Mats (until this year), CB4 and Vernon. What the heck have they won to deserve their huge contracts other than playing for their national teams? Speaking of Jack Armstrong, it appears that in each game he is commenting on the Raptors lack of killer instinct. This is not something that Triano can instill, it's on the players.

And yeah, I am willing to trade Bosh if it means we have the cap room for other players who would want to play in Canada -- such as Jose -- who may have gotten more on the open market. Yes, they are mostly Euro or South American whiteboys (I doubt Artest would be worth the ROI) but do you think Kirilenko would rather play in Utah than here, or TonyP and Manu staying in San Antonio rather than here (if Duncan retires), or Dirk and Nash reuniting here (after their contracts are up)? Except for Kirilenko, THESE are players who all have killer instinct, these are players who have no allegiance to the USofA, and these are the players who should be targeted for Toronto. No one who is currently on this roster should be sacred.

P.S. Kudos for Boston and Philadelphia for actually being critical of their sports teams; I'd rather have the rosters of ALL THREE of their NHL, NBA and especially MLB teams, than what the bean counters of Rogers and MLSE have had to offer us since 1993. We are supposedly a world-class city, certainly as wealthy and cosmopolitan a city as Boston and Philly, and the sports-related returns over the past decade have been third-world. Hopefully it will change now with the Leafs and Burke, but we thought so with Colangelo....

Just some thoughts on the conversation from the past two days:

1. Trading Bosh - No NBA team has ever been in the running for a championship with one superstar (Detroit aside because they were sick at all positions). It simply doesn't happen. Shaq and Wade, Shaq and Kobe, Jordan and Pippen, Hakeem and Cassell, Jordan and Pippen, Silas and Johnson, Robinson and Duncan...the list goes on and on. Bosh doesn't have that kind of help right now and the situation is eerily similar to that experienced by KG in Minny. The one season that team brought in serious help in Cassell and Spree the team was successful. KG alone couldn't win. Bosh can't do it alone either. He needs a serious sidekick. JO and Calderon are great pieces in that one is a solid defender and banger (and experienced) and the other is effective in being a pass first PG, but the Raps are missing another "star". Rather than trading a 24 (yeah, 24, not 30) STUD who is still growing as a player, isn't the answer to find him that other guy to play beside him? My theory on NBA trades is you always want to be getting the best player. If the team dealt Bosh it would be GIVING UP it's best player. If you seriously think trading Bosh is the answer I am seriously relieved you are not the GM of this team. Unfortunately the guy who could possibly get us that "star" is Bargnani and unless his play seriously improves the talent he would demand via trade is not high enough right now.

All this being said enough with the trade CB4 talk. Reflect on his play early in the season and you will see why. Besides rarely is it a teams big man that is the guy who takes the last shot, makes the big stop or creates open looks for wins. It's a guy on the wing. Don't ask Bosh to do things that many big men before were not able to do.

2. Expectations - Expectations are a funny thing and something that a Raptors team has not had to deal with for some time. Everyone is aware of what the expectations are and I for one see a team folding under them. To that end booing isn't the answer. It's only adding to the mountain of pressure on this team already. Bosh is clearly feeling the pressure to lift this team, JO is feeling the pressure (self imposed or otherwise) to prove he is still one of the games top players, the rest of the team feels pressure now that their play has gotten Sam Mitchell fired. As fans it is easy to get frustrated and want to see wins but booing isn't going to help. I never thought I would read about a Raps team needing to get away from their home court. The players want their floor to provide a home court advantage. The actions of the fans the past few days have made it a home court DISADVANTAGE. The expectations for this team were too high. Similar to those in 76ers land. If your expectations were too high you have two choices (1) revise them, or (2) continue to be disappointed. I would suggest the former. The latter doesn't help you or the team.

amen howland - the booing is actually lowering the quality of the product on the floor, and making jj's expenditures even more of a waste...

I was at the game. The fans are not idiots.

The booing started when we settled for/forced jump shots, and failed to score a basket for what seemed like an eternity.

The booing continued when the rebounding got soft.

Those boos were justified.

Booing Bosh for free throws on a rough night... I'll admit... the fans should know better.

But booing the Team, Bosh included, for resorting to old habits that fans have been witness to all year (blown leads due to poor rebounding and poor offensive decision making), totally justified.

Even if the Mavs were just light out for the second half. I can live with losing to the Mavs with an honest effort... which I felt the Hornets game and the Blazers game exemplified... but this loss deserved a boo or two... especially following Monday's collapse.

Good discussion as usual. I agree that raps fans overvalue players but trading bosh makes noooooo sense at all. You watch, hell be traded and then hell be paired with some other stars and win it all ala kg. Unless bargs pans out that pick set the team back so bc needs to deal with it and get cb4 some help. jo was a start, but theres still some large holes as franchise and howland say. Hopefully now with lower expectations fans can concentrate on what this year should be - a continued progression towards being a top team. I hate to say it but its just gonna take some more time.

Well...this post generated a lot of responses.

My initial thought at the start of this season: this team won't be a playoff force this year. They need a year together, plus the addition of parts in the next offseason (slashing/ defending/rebounding wingman, anyone???) to really compete.

Now I wonder. There seems to a malaise on this team. They're just not winners. I don't know if adding one (wing) player can change this mentality.

So I think the options are: 1) Do you hang on to this team as is, hoping that the addition of a player or two AND a new coach in the offseason are the difference makers for next year???, or 2) is this team not a contender, never will be, and do you blow it up to start the rebuilding again?

Thank you Howland re:the point on expectations. I made that point earlier in the season and that we might be in for a little bit of a disapointment (though I severly underestimated how much).

If booing and calling the raps the worst team on the planet makes you feel better. All the best to ya. But you're going to committ suidcide when this team gets worse. The disenchanted got what they wanted with Smitch's firing (whom many of us pointed out over and over was NOT the problem) -- now you've got no one to blame except the franchise player?

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be the best player on your team in T-dot especially if they're not winning.

The problem isn't Bosh...

The problem isn't coaching..

The problem isn't even the current GM...

The problem started when we drafted Michael Bradley, Chris Jefferies and Rafeal Arrujo. THEN losing out a few more drafts. The other problem is that this organization has never churned out a 2nd round player whose managed to stick in the league in its entire history. The problem is we got Joey Grahm for Vince Carter. The problem is this organization got screwed the day they were awarded a franchise. The problems today are still as a result of GG & Babcock.

The results of your basketball team isn't about what happend yesterday, its much longer than that.

So sure, blame your coach, blame your star player, then blame your GM and then if you're desperate enough go ahead and blame the assistant trainer.

We're just lucky we didn't get the Grizzlie franchise, cause right now, y'all would be Piston or Celtic fans.

jj- I don't think we catered to Vince in them final days. There were lots of booing whenever he went down. I'm remember sitting in the plats during that final year (we snuck down) and Vice fell over. One guy in a suit threw his beer and yelled "Get up you little b*tch" and Vince looked over and gave him the finger. We all knew the Vince love fest was long done.

Thank you for setting these raps fan straight.

Trading Bosh.....Helll Nooooo

As for the booing I understand but it was not required especially a last to Dallas

jjdynomite,

LOVE the fire and the passion..love it.

I seemed to be the only person booing on Monday and got into with some fans who persisted on booing VC instead of the Raps lousy effort on the floor.

In my section alone (golds, behind the bucket...and I paid for them, as I do for the other 15 games that I've got this season), there were stares and comments when I was beside myself for their utter lack of effort on the boards and their insistence on jumpers throughout the entire fourth quarter.

My point was why boo last night if you didn't on Monday? Maybe last night was the tipping point for many fans...who knows?

All I know is that it is becoming very difficult to enjoy following this team this year.

They lack an identity, they are soft, they can't rebound and are bereft of athletes and they're boring to watch.

When does the honeymoon period wear off for Colangelo????

Ummm...the honeymooon period has worn off, definitely. When you have a GM proclaim this is the best Raptor team that he has assembled...and they suck as bad as they do...that is the end of the honeymoon period. Can BC pull some miracle out of this quagmire of crappy and disinterested players???

Pretty sure the tailspin you speak of started a few games ago....

But as one of the lucky few who watched last night\\s game, I think the fans were booing Jamario mostly. And he deserved it as usual, I think.

Bosh received a scattering of boos after missing long jumpers; but it was more of booing the team for TAKING TOO MANY DAMN JUMPERS!(and worse than pathetic rebounding)

This has pretty much been one of the main downfalls of this team for probably 5 (?) years now.

There is no more excusable reason for it. We have three 7 foot jump shooters. End of story, no team can win with that. DUNK THE DAMN BALL, YOU ARE SEVEN FEET TALL.

Jack was making some excellent points last night, but I was honestly too drunk last night to remember today, if anybody remembers please post it. I think he was just articulating their lack of grit perfectly.

wow! that was just horrible. i support the booing raptors fans as that game was garbage. ustation, if you havent watched the game, i dont know how u can back this up. booing serves the raps right, theyve been losing leads recently, many times actually and it just unaccpetable. these are PROFESSIONAL players, getting paid more money than most of us make in our life time. they are the ones who should be playing hard everynight because thats what they are paid for. Toronto has great fans, many watch and support the team, but when your team doesnt produce or show energy and fight to win a ball, is there any point of us caring and still support. seriosuly, we have 3 really great players on our team, and we should be last in our division. booing shows that we care and expect highly of our team to produce on the court.
many of us were talking about competeing for the finals this year, but it shows that we are actually fighting to even make the playoffs. and i dont know why many feel bosh is untouchable. sure he's a great player, was a good player on the USA team but what has he done on this team that deserves to be untouchable. he gets too shot-happy near the end of games which most times kills us, and he's not a player who can take over a game on his own. he's a great player on a bad team, a good player in the leaugue, but is he really that great and we'll expect him to turn this franchise around. although i do like bosh, i dont think hell lead us to great unless we have many other good players, which now i put the blame on BC for not doing anything yet and im still waiting for him to do a freakin trade.

anyways back the booing, the booing just shows that we care and we want this team to perform on a nightly basis and NOT GIVE UP their leads. i dont care if it was dallas because we had that game up by 13, and the raps just got to caught up with shooting and not making good plays.

Howland states: "rarely is it a team's big man that is the guy who takes the last shot, makes the big stop or creates open looks for wins".

Oh, really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PDdb48g4_c

Note that this was Duncan's fifth 3-point attempt of THE SEASON (and first make). Bosh has already taken 17 this season, and has made 5, a dandy 29.4%.

Look, if our star player wants to play like a PG or a SG -- as many, many games have demonstrated this season, such as the "drive" from beyond the 3 point line to end the Portland game -- he should be criticized for *underperforming* as an offensive PG or SG. And I haven't even mentioned his defence yet.

And for those of you implying that it's sacrilegious to even THINK of trading Bosh, do remember that he can OPT OUT at the end of next season.

I guess you are too young to remember a certain T-Mac at the end of the 2000 who strung the franchise along, left for Orlando, and the Raptors got NADA. Which was even WORSE than Wince leaving, since it disrupted a rising franchise. The Raptors aren't even a rising franchise NOW!

The issue is this: if those of you optimists think BC is going to right this ship in the next season-and-two-thirds, so much that Bosh will want to re-sign, stay optimistic. But for me, seeing this team stagnate since 2006-2007, with Bosh as our undisputed leader for all three of those seasons, I see the same T-Mac situation playing out a decade later. And as opposed to Sundin, Bosh does not have a no-movement clause.

Okay, this is all I'm posting on this matter; and, being a Raptor fan, I really don't want to say I told you so in a year and a half.

P.S. lessthanzero, you hit the nail on the head.

and if bosh thinks that he's the franchise player in this team, he neads to carry this team and play tough everynight. his poor play against dallas proved that if hes not performing to expectations (he even had thoughts about MVP this year) the raps will boo, and boo, and boo until he can show that he can carry this team to victory and hopefully finals aspirations

"In a way then, this road trip might actually be a blessing in disguise"
YOu hit the nail right on the head Franchise I was just about ready to give up on the Raps until I read your post and you are exactly right. The TEAM NEEDS TALENT....MY GOD THEY ARE STICKING UP THE JOINT....Lets get out of town before the boo birds come back....raps4Life

Ah the booing. JJ I understand where you come from. This Raptors team has become like a CD with scratch on it (provided people still listen to CD's). It always gets to a certain point before it starts to mess up and has to restart. Much like the Raptors it starts out great and eventually breaks down and gives up. I could settle losing to a Dallas team from a few years ago cause they were unbeatable. But now? Most experts have the Mavs pegged as missing the playoffs. Their a weaker team (yes with more talent) but theres no excuse for how they played in the 2nd half. That can also be said against there Nets game. Their lack of ability to close out games (Chris should know how by now)is killing them. Thats when you have to put the foot to the throat and push. I'm a coach as well for an OBA team. I am learning the ropes as a coach but the biggest issue I see so far is the lack of a killer instinct. This team is softer then melted butter. Wheres the intensity? The heart? The effort? If they lose to the Sonics...Then I don't know what I will do. I don't have the schedule handy on me but I can think of 6 games or so where the raps blew the lead. Dallas, New Jersey, Boston, Portland, Atlanta and Orlando. I know there are growing pains but this team is loaded with seasoned players. Most of them have at least 3 years of playing experience. Things should be clicking yet they never play a full for 48 minutes. All I want for Christmas is consistency and a full 48 minutes played. Is that too much to ask?

P.S.S. Okay, one more thing. I'm not just saying trade Bosh to shake things up -- or give up on the season -- I'm saying *to at least consider* trading Bosh because our #1 draft pick (should) play the same position, and we can get the best return for CB4 in the form of a superstar wingman under a long-term contract.

And that Bosh can opt-out in 2010. At least LeBron has a solid team around him to give him second thoughts of leaving.

A couple of follow-up points:

JJ -I knew the Duncan reference was going to come up. Like I said, it is rare for this to occur and you simply proved my point. It's an example, but clearly not the norm, and given how rarely he shoots three's I would argue a bit of a fluke.

re: TMac. Dude, I am definitely not too young. I recall. I also remember trading VC for less than market value. I would rather have cap space then bit pieces for Bosh. Again, I re-inforce the fact that you need two stars to win championships. Dealing our only one would be...inexcusable. This is a bit of a useless conversation because I am 99% sure it won't happen unless Bosh demands a trade.

Last point on booing - The question you need to ask is, "Will it help?" It's basketball and there are ebbs and flows to every game. Booing is just preventing the team from getting that little momentum to make the needed push.

Howland,
You, like anybody of course, are entitled to your opinions but I do not think you can call a topic off based upon them. I am referring to the "deal Bosh" topic.
I disagree on one point with your analysis: Bosh is not a superstar in need of a second stinger, but a second stinger in need of a superstar. He still is the best payer on the roster, never the less no other player on the roster is worth it trading for a superstar.
That it is why the argument of trading Bosh has a legitimacy (he can give you a hell of a SF, a decent big and some picks and it would hence make the team better by an order of magnitude) unless of course he has committed to stay in Toronto beyond 2010 but I am not aware of such deal.
A move along these lines is risky, it could make a GM look incredibly smart or incredibly stupid, but it is a legitimate one. Of course there are plenty of other approaches as meaningful or better, but explore possibilities is what these discussions are made of :)

Here's my last word on the booing debate.

I'm not against booing, in fact, I'm quite pro for it, depending on the right circumstance.

I figure booing is the 2nd highest form of disrespect next to not showing up. But if I start booing, I'm not going to be cheering for whomever it is the very next night.

By me booing, I'm announcing to the world that this person/team disgusts me and that I have no respect for them. I boo somebody because I want them out of here, or to let everyone know he/it/they are the enemy.

I booed Lenny Wilkens during his last days (though I felt guilty because he was old and has an NBA legacy). I booed Mike James while he was a Rap (man did I boo Mike James). I'd boo Babcock & Richard Peddie if I could. I boo VC because he broke my heart. I boo 'Zo and Kenny Anderson for dissing us.

As a player, I'm not responding to boos in a positive fashion. I'm not thinking, oh hey you know what, the fans are right, they're booing me and I'm going to show up and play better. I'm thinking, they're ultimately dissing me and if I could I'd slap'em across the face.

I think as I've said before, T-dot has too much wrestling mentality in it's blood. They think this is scripted where you can boo them one day and cheer them the next. And all is well.

Well numnuts, I'm sure if I insult any of you here just once, I'm sure you ain't gonna forget about it. So I wouldn't blame Bosh for feeling the same.

So no I wasn't at the game, but that's the point. It'd take a whole series of events for me to dis someone, and I just as much remember what Bosh did last month when I was cheering for him. Who knows maybe one day he might deserve my boos, but for a week of bad plays? Nu-uh. And that's the bottom line with you what have you done for me lately Johnnies. Booing the raps as a team for a poor performance isn't the issue.

Merry Christmas.

just read a qoute from bosh along the lines of 'if you think the fans are frustrated, how do you think I feel?'

so yeah I'm coming down a little from where I was and it's funny, this whole thing is playing out like a god dang relationship! people getting mad, maybe some yelling and screaming, getting sad, booing, blaming, pointing fingers, then repenting a little and asking for forgiveness. cue the hugs.

but seriously, it's just a game man, it's just a game. we (I) should make an effort on the 31st to support the boys in red no matter what.

I think we've all gotten our points across (booing and spewing) that we're a little angry and frustrated. time to move on!

you're my boy blue! you're my boy.

now everybody go listen to jay-z's 'brooklyn go hard'.

Man losing really breaks the heart.

T o be honest and you all should be honest with yourself...

CB4 WAS THE SAME GUY YOU ALL WERE CHEERING FOR LESS THAN TW0 WEEKS AGO AND FOR THE PASS THREE YEARS.

NOW THE GUY HAVE A FEW BAD GUYS A YOU FRIGGIN IDIOTS BOOO HIM ....

Boo the raptors has a team but not Bosh. Every player have bad steches like this ever player does, yes even the all greatest Jordan which whom I have 20 pairs of his shoes and think of it yes the greatest ever.

i HOPE YOU SAME BOOO FANS DON'T CHEER WHEN THE RAPTORS HIT THERE STRIDE AND START WINNING AND BOSH IS BACK TO BEEN BOSH.

I rant too after the game but in the end I'm a raptors fan who will stick through the bad times and good...Think about it

I hope you same idiots don't cheer when they do win six in a row or when BC makes a trade and BOSH is back to been BOSH.

I would boo all you Mike James haters if I could. (I realize that this is over 50% of us here.)

Yeah, he deserved it for hogging the ball and playing for a contract I guess;

But he was the only player on that team with stones, a characterisic we are now lacking, and he hit a substantial amount of clutch and game winning shots. I would wager that he hit more clutch shots in one season than Moon, Parker and Graham combined in the last couple of seasons.

We were all smug a couple of year's ago because we didn't have a thugged out team.
Well....
Nice players = this year's debacle

Rafer and TJ migtht as well fit in there as well; players Raps fans foolishly dissed.

But when the chips are down, games are on the line, these types of players give you everything they have. Are they slightly insane? Yeah, but that's what makes them successful.

Pretty sure we all thought Camby was soft too. Whoops.

Awww DayOner, I was just about to close up shop around here, and you have to bring up "Mike Who?". :)

I thought that debate was long closed (I've been celebrating that one a long time). See what MJ has done post Raps. Okay.. that's for another day.

Hopefully no one take the debates here too personally. At the end of the day, sports is to help us forget the real things in life that we should really be booing.

Anyways....final note (I swear).

"If I wanted to get booed, I'd go on the road. It's real tense right now. When you're down three points at home and you're hearing boos, that's kind of disheartening.

"Whether the crowd knows it or not, they play a big part in the game." -CB4

Franchise, love your blog. Your analysis is usually right on. But tis time, boiled down, the summary is: Bosh didn't make his shats (if he had made 10 out of 20)...

That the best you got?

Truth is, this game should not have been close enough to have had those 4 shots matter; the Raps took their foot off the gas, again, and I have to wonder why.

"Idiots", Sshady? Well, I might be an idiot but at least now I know the nickname of the retard who was chanting "MVP! MVP! MVP!" after 5 frickin' games. And it sure wasn't me.

P.S. The fact that you mentioned Jordan in the same paragraph as Bosh proves what a homer you are. And that's not a compliment.

I'm not saying we should sign Mike James tomorrow, I'm just saying he is one of a very small group of "gamers" that we have had here in FOURTEEN years.

It's more of a personality thing I guess, I know he had some holes in his game, but you could see the fire in his eyes from the Sprite Zone, that's all I'm saying, and we don't have anyone like that on the current roster.

Ok, Mike James Love will now be suspended until the next dis, Ustation.

Despite this downward spiral we’re on, I have to say ... I enjoy this Blog (and your post today Franchise), for being rational and not reactive – unlike some others. Rap fans need to STOP looking backwards .... TJ, MJ (god I’m glad he’s gone), the VC trade, or whatever starts the blood boiling with some of this crowd. Start thinking intelligent. Yeah, I’d like to trade Joey for a Marion type, but until BC can pull a set of sucker trades like Ainge did, let’s focus on realistic options.

As for CB, he’s been in a funk for the past 10 games or so, and I hope the MVP talk is put away, so we can get back to seeing the real CB. Not the Lebron CB, but a guy who is OUR franchise player.

And as much as I’m glad the 3 experiment is over, I’m with you Franchise on AB getting some plays run for him. Either he doesn’t know where to go, or he’s being told to act like some blocking dummy. Yeah, his shot sucks right now, but we all know he has the ability to knock them down. Like any sport, the mental game is very important, and I can only hope this AB "musical chair" game is over.

If these two Bigs have their shots going down – and we know they can – things will be a bit more tolerable. Unfortunately, it only disguises our true ailment. A quality 2 and 3 in the Starter spots, so we can return the current fill-ins to their rightful spots – the Bench. Joey, Moon, AP and Kapono – with less pressure – would give us that strength we had once upon a time.

now everybody go listen to jay-z's 'brooklyn go hard'

I second that - or "Come and Get Me."

Raps need some of that swagger...

Wow... I can't believe how aggressive this blog has gotten over the last few losses.

THESE APATHETIC LOSSES ARE TEARING US APART! (in my best Charleton Heston like voice)

Okay guys, all this chatter about the booing is getting ridiculous. It happened. Some right, some wrong. But it's done.

So let's look at the probably options moving forward this season.

1. BC makes no moves and the team ends up middle of the pack just missing a playoff birth. The liklihood of this is very high due to the fact that if BC keeps the roster in tact, he has another 10 to 15 Million in spending cash next season due to expiring contracts. If he can scour the FA market and take another shot at a John Salmons like player (almost had him) to fill the starting lineup void left by Parker, the team is already better. This would leave a few million to grab a "tough customer" type of player to bring the grit level up.

2. BC makes no moves and the team ends up tanking to a high draft pick. The liklihood of this one is pretty low. For all the losing, this team has a boat load of shooters that can get hot and shoot the lights out. That should prevent the complete collapse scenario. Regardless, if they did collapse we're in the lottery again and looking at BC grabbing another PF of course (KIDDING!!). On top of the draft pick BC will again have his 10 to 15 Million to go shopping.

3. BC trades some small pieces to get some small pieces back. This really isn't going to save the season. This is just going to keep everyone moderately happy as they climb their way to just missing a playoff spot and possibly jeopardize his FA positioning if he has to move expiring contracts to get it done.

3. BC trades studs for studs. This implies Bosh, Oneal and Calderon (either one or all). The liklihood of this happening is next to zero. This is the doomsday scenario. A move like this signifies you've made all the wrong moves up to this point and are trying to hit a grand slam to save the game. Let's face it, this just aint gonna happen.

So where does that leave us? Well, in all liklihood things are going to stay the course for the rest of the season and we'll see some movement in the coming summer and in the following summer. So knowing that this lineup is mediocre at best, let's just all take a breath and enjoy some basketball without the lofty expectations.

And maybe, if santa thinks we've all been good raptors fans there'll be a nice surprise in our stockings after Christmas (Santa, please bring world peace....and a hard nosed tough guy to the Raps...peace out Big Red).

A few questions:
1) Why and where did the whole Voskul thing come from?
2) Raps are tanking for Rubio?

Now back to the fun stuff... playing GM....

Hey, Franchise and Howland, do you guys have an opinion on Marvin Williams and whether BC could/would make a move for him?

It seems like Atlanta has put their eggs into the Josh Smith basket with his long term contract. Williams would be a nice fit at the 3 for the Raps. I really like Pachulia on Atlanta as well. I watched the footage from the playoffs of the KG forearm where Pachulia snapped and got up in KG's grill.... loved it!

Cheers.

yeah, whats up with the voshkul signing. he aint gonna do much but sit on the bench, make his money, and go home.

richard hendrix is a player i would have taken instead (if only BC waited!!!!damn) and he can be that paul millsap type of player. a little undersized but has much strenth and aggresiveness to compete for boards. he may develop a pretty good game. lets go sign him now

My list of middle tier great value for the money players. I'd love to see any of these guys as a Rap:

John Salmons 5M/yr(still hurts)
Marvin Williams 6-7M/yr
Thabo Sefalosha 2M/yr(this kid can play some furious D!) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHJktUUuSfc&feature=related&fmt=18
Drew Gooden 7M/yr (wood be great 6th man)
Zaza Pachulia 4M/yr
Travis Outlaw 4M/yr
Ron Artest 8M/yr (I can't believe I'm saying this)
Linas Kleiza 2-3M/yr
Jason Maxiell 2M/yr
Stephen Jackson 7M/yr (another headcase, but probably one of the greatest bang for the buck players)
Marcus Camby 8M/yr (I'd pay 8M/yr for the possibility of a 30reb game)
Devin Harris 8M/yr (are you kidding me?)
Jarvis Hayes 2M/yr
Desmond Mason 5M/yr (on the fence on this one)
Jeff Green 3M/yr
Chris Wilcox 7M/yr
Hidayet Turkoglu 7M/yr
Keith Bogans 3M/yr
Matt Barnes 1M/yr (are you kidding me?)
Rudy Fernandez 1-2M/yr
Spencer Hawes 2-3M/yr
Paul Millsap 1M/yr

One last prediction before bed:

The Raps starting lineup for the OKC game will be:

Calderon
Parker
Graham
Bargs
Oneal

Why? They're going to use the lack of media coverage (TSN2) to give Bosh some rest by using him off the bench. The second unit will be...

Ukic
Kapono
Moon
Bosh
Hump

Just a guess, but I think they are going to try to give Bosh some rest.

I am with Howland on the trading Bosh scenario. If you want 50 cents on the dollar then send me 50 dollars and I will give you 25. Seriously, didn't you learn anything from the past few seasons? You have a better chance of dealing a bunch of expiring contracts and getting a long term contract in return (ala Jamal Crawford going to GS) then you do trading a superstar (or all-star for those who do not believe Bosh is a superstar) and getting a superstar plus parts back (or even just a star and some parts). Not to mention that all of this blow up the team talk is extemely premature as it is only game 25. This was one of the reasons I felt that BC pulled the firing trigger a little too early (then he made a dumb comment about the talent which if you look it at on paper he is correct, more on that in a minute) which put a huge amount of pressure on this team to learn a new system and still try to stay afloat.

As for the people who think BC is an idiot for his statement about this being the most talented team he has had, he is absolutely right on paper. They may not be as deep as their other teams but they have 3 potential all-stars (by potential I mean Bosh and Oneal have already played in multiple all-star games and some people were making arguments last year the Calderon should have gotten the nod) as well as some pretty good 3 point shooters, a 3rd year 1st overall pick and some other parts who should have been getting more playing time (Graham and Moon). On paper this is the best team he has put together but for whatever reason they are just not gelling. Maybe the chemistry is wrong or the parts don't fit but it doesn't me he is an idiot or liar or whatever.
As I have mentioned before there is too much of the "sky is falling/Championship team" back and forth based on wins and loses. Everyone needs to balance out or start taking litium or something.

The booing: This has been one of the most debated issues, not just for the Raptors but in sports in general. The two sides basically seem to be unwilling to show some empathy to the other. The truth is that booing is going to happen. Fans get frustrated that their team is losing and take it out on the players even if it isn't completely their fault. Players and coaches react negatively to it because, lets face it, no one likes to be booed. Booing is a form of criticism, and who likes to be criticised even when they deserve it(admit it, do you like it when your boss chews you out for your mistakes at work even when you deserve it). Ultimately, booing is conterproductive but it is completely understandable, and the players and coaches are just going to have to live with it as it isn't likely to stop just because they ask people to stop. It is an unfortunate reality in sports that people place unrealistic expectations on players and teams (fans because they are fans and want to cheer a winner, the media feeds the beast because it sells papers and that works both ways, win or lose, and the team builds expectations to increase ticket sales).

I'am so curious to see how this team comes out on friday night. They have to win this one. This one right here or maybe it's time to get some new coaching staff. Honestly, it is the settling for jump shots and being soft as Fuc#$! It's not hard to box out. Defence seems to have been stressed ever since Sam had grades put up in the lockers after every practice. Kevin O'Neil was a defensive wiz wasn't he. Like, how can they be so oblivious to rebounding fundamentals, they've lost games because of it, blown big leads, buzzer beaters, total blow outs. Maybe it is the coaching staff. Maybe they don't know D (all known for there offense). Why can't they just watch film of San Antonio and copy that. Cause it takes hart. God, does Bargnani have one? He has to step up and knock it out. 3rd year and I like him, but the coaches aren't getting him mismatches bye setting any type of offensive plays.
Why doesn't Moon slam it ever. His youtube slam dunk is becoming Ironic! I haven't seen him slam, have you!
Gotta win, or give me that Ettore Messina, Bargnani's old coach. Have to win, really they should want to blow them out, but we'll see.

Unrelated to the current topic but a statement made on SI by Chris Manix
Toronto: Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo told me that he loved Jay Triano's offensive philosophies. Colangelo will use the last five months of the season to see if Triano has the makeup to be an NBA coach. Of all the interim coaches, Triano probably stands the best chance to keep the job.
That should answer the people thinking that Jay has no chance to coach the team long term (i.e. that BC has already decided on the Italian Coach from Dynamo).

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