Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game – Nothing New

Hello lottery...Good bye Bosh!!

The Raps are just to damn passive. On defence they need to activity disrupt the opponents sets. They are not good enough individual defenders to just play man and hope to contain their opponents. On offence they have to attack the basket, with drives and post-ups. On both ends they need to block out and go up strong for rebounds.

I have no idea if Triano can get them to do theses things, but I know Smitch never could have.

potentially the best '3 keys' for the next game ever.

'don't get blown out'

absolutely brilliant.

you know things are getting ugly when that's on your wish list!

but really, let me just say that moon is now on my most hated list. the kid's mailing it in and that 3 he took at the top of the shot clock literally made me violent.

go with joey until someone else comes into town. not that joey didn't have some stupid fouls last night, but at least he's being physical and is trying to get to the rack.

I started to look at this team and really question the value of Calderon when some things came to mind, and this hinges on how the organization projects Ukic's development. If the Raps could get Steve Nash now for a package that included Calderon would they do it? The Suns are really at the limits financially and one would figure Nash being brought in to run the offense until 2010 would accomplish a couple of things:

1. Because there will likely be an improvement to the competitiveness, Chris Bosh will be kept "happy" (which I'm not sure should be a priority at the moment, but that is another topic all together) and the team remains in play for his services in 2010.

2. Ukic has enough time to develop into an aging Nash's eventual replacement and could learn from how Nash effectively uses pace. I don't think Calderon is as effective a teacher because the styles they play are so different

3. Of all the players in the league MLSE would go into luxury tax far Nash would seem the most natural fit

4. Phoenix gets some cap relief (especially if the right expiring contracts could be included) and can position Calderon as their point guard of the future more in tune with the half court style they seem to want to play and they remain competitive in the west, depending on the pieces they extract from us (Parker, Kapono).

5. I imagine the interim gig was given Triano because of all the assistant coaches he was the one most accommodating to the strictly interim role and is well aware of his the identity of his eventual replacement (if the Messina speculation is true, I imagine Triano would be receptive to serving under him as an assistant even after holding the head coaching position for a while). And as others have alluded to Nash would be reunited with his old National team coach.

Of course this would be one of the two major moves the Raptors will have to make to balance their roster (JO being moved to a team like Chicago that is in need of a low post threat for a package of wings, picks, and serviceable bigs that can run) would have to complement this, but both short and long term such drastic steps could prove fruitful.

Thoughts?

I'd have to say thinking about things that happened yesterday, there's one thing the Raptors have to do more of, is push the ball up the court without rushing their decision making. I think that because the Raptors haven't played this style in two years, I saw a lot of the same problems that they had two years ago with moving the ball quickly up court, but ultimately taking the first shot because they think they need to put the ball into the basket ASAP. There's gotta be some control to this faster pace, but it's not going to come overnight. I think everyone really needed to manage their expectations with this first game, which is why I mentioned it's going to take at least a month before Triano gets things in order.

Yup, it's going to be tough, and there are going to be problems like last night, but I'm seeing the mark of Triano in certain areas which make me feel happy. For instance, the first two quarters were the most entertaining quarters I've seen from the Raptors for a while. I still think if they got more calls their way, we wouldn't have seen such a huge discrepancy at the half.

Seeing Roko commit a hard strip on Kirilenko actually brought a smile to my face, even though it was a foul.

Finally, I still think that Calderon's defense is the heart of the problem, but I don't think people are giving him the right direction. Too often I saw him going tight on Williams rather than playing him to drive. I also saw him not even attempt to cut off his man, but would rather try for a steal or such and get blown by. I don't believe Calderon's mobility is that bad, it's just that he has to change his defensive philosophy. Like I said, right now, I'd rather have him completely protect the drive and let his guy attempt to shoot the lights out rather than let his man dribble penetrate and cause our defense to shift over or second guess itself. Right now our bigs don't know whether to help out or not on every single play because Calderon isn't protecting the dribble penetration at all.

Moon's 3 - ticket to the D league please.

Stop giving Bosh props. He's been absent on the west coast.

His demeanor has been very Vince-like - especially the griping at the refs (who deserve it).
Raps do not need a big man as much as a man with big balls.They need someone who can call his own guys out on defence and actually play some himself. That rules Bosh out. Milsap owned him last night and it was mostly hustle. Do we have another franchise player starting to turn on the franchise?
O'Neil should just sit for a few weeks and start over. He can be a help in the playoffs, but we have to get him healthy. we need to do this w/o him.
I still think that the fouls are most often against the Raps. A Canadian team in Utah? The commentary even said that it is hard to get a call in Utah? Why? Don't calls follow fouls?

Time to start joey g and bring o'neal off the bench. Bargs had four blocks, joey's attacking, JO's slowed, bosh is working too hard early on - it makes perfect sense except that JO would cry...

Wow, Interloper, you and I could not have more completely different philosophies if we tried. I don't see how bringing in a defensively slower and aging point guard will help this team defensively which is their main problem right now. Nash is getting old, and was never a good player on defense so I am not sure why you think he can help and trading a younger version of him makes about as much sense as Dallas letting Nash walk did. Yes Nash is better at this stage of his carrer but do you really think adding Nash is going to turn us into an instant contender? As that is not the case, there is no way you are going to add salary and kill any chance of helping the Raptors in other areas (like the wings) so it is a bad idea. As for the idea of Nash teaching Ukic vs Calderon teaching him, that isn't Calderons job. Yes Nash could teach the kid some moves but ultimately you don't pay someone 20 million a year (or whatever Nash's salary is) to teach a young point how to play. When Nash retires he can come here and work as an assistant for 300k and do the same thing.

I hate to say I told yall so but I told yall so. All the fans who thought this team was going to improve by removing Smitch were crazy. I am not saying they won't improve over time but ultimately, defence and shot selection are as much about attitude as they are about coaching and ability. The team needs to change their attitude otherwise you could have Popovich or Sloan coach this team and it won't make a difference.

Believe it or not, there have been some positives out of all these blow outs. Namely, the early garbage time has given some of guys who never play a chance to play. This helps to identify who might be useful and who won't be. I thought Solomon has looked ok (as a 3rd point he is better than Derrick "I like to shoot not pass" Martin. Is Adams hurt? He looks like someone who should give up basketball and take up a real job. I have seen nothing in any of the games he has played in to warrant a spot even in the D league. I am not sure why so many people thought before the season started that he could compete for a starting spot. He looks lost and should probably consider going to play in Europe next year where he can get some playing time and maybe develope his game a little (ala Parker).

One more thing that occured to me about Calderon. Is it me or is he playing completely differently then he has the last two years? I remember last year how impressed I was as he looked to attack the basket and if it wasn't there he would circle around and look for the open man or lay it up on his way out. This year he looks like he has slowed down considerably and I am wondering if he has gotten over his groin pull from the olympics. He just looks like he has lost a step on offense and that isn't good. Am I the only one who has noticed this?

Gateway - No, you're not alone in noticing it, but I don't think it's Calderon's fault. The problem is that last year, you had Bargnani and Nesterovic as your two centers, both of which look to shoot from outside of the painted area. As a result, it would draw their man (usually the shot blocker on the team) outside of the paint.

This year, you have Jermaine O'Neal camped inside to make a move or get a rebound, and well, it just doesn't leave Calderon with that much space to drive to the basket. At least, that's my take on it. It's why I've thought that losing Nesterovic was a bigger deal than most people have thought, and at the end of the day, you spent more than double the money to shore up a position that wasn't in dire need of help. It's why I was never sold on the O'Neal deal.

Vicious D says:
December 6th, 2008
Gateway - No, you're not alone in noticing it, but I don't think it's Calderon's fault. The problem is that last year, you had Bargnani and Nesterovic as your two centers, both of which look to shoot from outside of the painted area. As a result, it would draw their man (usually the shot blocker on the team) outside of the paint.

good observation but JC is not shooting enough or creating enough for Himself. I noticed last few games His time getting dowwn the floor on offense seems to be quicker. The shots by most players last night looked hurried and not smooth. I am worried about Bosh His facial expressions not good and He has not attacked the rim much in last 3 games.It's going to be a long Dec hopefully the hole they dig is not too deep!

Franchise,

Sam is gone. BC wants Triano for the rest of the year. Now it's on the players. Shape up or ship out.

Some things will get better before year's end (defensive schemes, plays for Kapono, Joey with some burn) because they can't get any worse BUT the new coach doesn't play.

BC says he owns the decisions that made this club. Good to hear. He knows that the Raptors are a perimeter oriented team. That needs to change.

Even with JO this team is a first round playoff at best. During the playoffs things lots tougher and outside shots stop falling. You NEED to take it to the rack.

Who on the Raps can play in the paint? CB4, JO, and Graham. They get to the line every night but who else?

Is it reasonable to expect AP to guard the other teams best player and score 15ppg in the paint?

Moon is allergic to the paint but would be a decent bench player wouldn't he?

Jose doesn't drive as much as last year. The hammy still hurting? And for gawd's sakes why does he meet his man at half court instead of playing them for the drive?

Kapono is a smart player but doesn't have the hops or the handles. If the Raps aren't gonna use the NBA's best shooter then shouldn't they sit him on the bench?

Hump is a good hustle player so why doesn't he know his role? Why does he take so many crappy shots?

Roko has promise and isn't afraid to take it to the hoop BUT but why does he call his own number so many times? Does he forget CB4 and JO are on the floor?

Why is everybody afraid to give the ball to Bargs when he posts up?

I'm not sure how it works in the NBA. I know it's not like college or high school ball where the coach is the dictator but what's up with all the one and dones lately.

One pass, someone tries to go one vs one, a double team comes so they throw up an outside jumper and that's it.

Then instead of hustling back on D they jog back, over help the first time some bench player gets close to the hoop, and give up a wide open 3 to someone who even Stevie Wonder can see is on fire. Arrrggghh!

What happened to the 3-4 passes from last year's team. That team communicated, shared the ball, and got to the free throw line.

Hey guys,

Loved your bold prediction of:

"Frankly I don’t think BC is going to be any happier with the results brought about by this coaching change."

I was not in love with Smitch, but I have to say I completely agree with you guys. As a result, I have come up with 3 possible routes that BC could take.

Maybe you wanna check it out?

http://thepassionthatfrustratesusall.blogspot.com/

McGateway, in suggesting Nash I was conceding that this team is doing itself a disservice by trying to focus too much on entrenching a defensive style when it's pieces have special offensive gifts. Thus to make the best of the situation now they should focus on optimizing their offense with a more creative point guard. Calderon does not impress me, in fact he reminds me of the situation the Raptors were facing in a previous incarnation when they brought in Marc Jackson and his half court preferences just didn't mesh with the team at the time. They took off once they traded him. The move as I set out would also be something that couldn't be made in isolation. You would have to move JO to address the shortcomings at the wings and likely bring in the sort of players more suited to an up tempo style. Another point of contention is that Calderon is not a younger version of Nash. My point on Ukic was that he has the makeup to be a very good balanced offensive/defensive point guard given his size and quickness, projecting to a poor-man's version of Devin Harris once he develops a decent jumpshot, which would take time. I think when they reach that upper echelon all players would have to be competent man to man defenders and some of the pieces are capable of being just that. Working under Nash would provide a transition period that didn't necessarily present a significant drop off in terms of on court performance/entertainment. Nash is making somewhere in the vicinity of 12M, which with Jose's BYC status would require at least two other contracts as ballast. It's one of many philosophies that could be applied to remaking the team for short term enjoyment with an eye toward longterm excellence. But that's part of the fun of spaces like this. If we all agreed it would be boring

the faster pace only lasted about half a quarter. the rest of the game the raps offense was back to the grind.

Interesting to read Swirsky's take in his blog:

Yes, I did stay up to watch the Raps-Jazz game. I have no life. None. This one was over early. Not liking what I'm seeing out of Chris Bosh's body language of late. Losing is killing him. I love the guy. Flat out think the world of him as a person and player. Hopefully a win over Portland will take some pain out of a rocky week in Toronto. Raps fans are impatient and I don't blame them.

I also noticed Bosh chewing out Moon. This was after his atrocious giveaway to Williams that led to an uncontested bucket. How much of that was frustration with Moon and how much was his own?

I also heard Bosh's comments on Triano's promotion and he seemed pretty lukewarm to it. If he is taking a wait and see attitude on Triano's coaching then we are in big trouble. As the leader of thsi team, he needs to buy into Triano immediately and support him unless proven otherwise, as any uncertainty on his part will be picked up on by his teamates.

I just hate when this happens. After enduring a long summer season barely able to contain myself waiting for the start of NBA, at long last bball begins and after a handful of games excitement and anticipation turns to gloom and resignation.

Although I was not a Mitchell fan I failed understand how changing him at this juncture would translate into a significant change in team fortunes when the talent deficiencies were so obvious. I don’t understand how routine defensive lapses will change with a replacement coach who was present when the problems existed since pre-season. Is the implication that Triano sat on his hands while he allowed Mitchell to flounder? Why is Colangelo going on the radio trying to convince listeners that team depth is not an issue and what they need is another big? Does he actually believe that or is it spin?

This team did not give up on Mitchell as some media reported but I think they have lost faith in themselves to win which is a harder problem to correct.
Sorry Tinman for being sucky again but I feel as gloomy as the day.

Wow,
"1. Don’t Get Blown Out –"
That’s the first key to tomorrow’s game, "Don’t get blown out"?!? Pathetic.
Hey, Howland I’m not disagreeing with you at all. That actually is my only hope at this point. This may be the highest level of frustration I have had with this team in a while... Another blow out loss and no Smitch to blame. Surprise, surprise. Got a news flash for people. This team ain’t good. Their back up PGs and wings are the worst in the league bar none. Thank god we got more playing time for Joey Graham though... the season is saved. Pathetic. Can’t wait to see how this completely flawed roster is MAXIMIZED! That goes out to you BC. What’s the excuse going to be in 30 games...

Oh by the way, you want to know why Triano was picked? Because BC figures Jay will do what he says. No slight to Triano. I think he’s a good guy and a good coach, and wish him all the best. But the ship is sinking and BC has decided to go down with his mistake rather than accept defeat.
I know this is overly negative. But I’ve had it. Hope I’m wrong.

I'm not really feelin' all the pessimism that's flyin' around these parts right now. it's pro sports - it's not an exact science. let's let things play out a little.

case in point: thinking of trading jose is just reactionary. he's been playing hurt, maybe with less confidence for whatever reason, maybe he's trying too hard to keep JO and Bosh happy...who knows.

but let's not forget when he's got it going on, which he did for the first 10 games or so of this season, (and all of last season) the guy's an offensive nightmare. sure his defense is suspect but I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with everybody else on the court alongside him too. there are ways to hide him a bit, maybe get more help, and I don't think it's being done right now.

so let's give him some time, (like, say, maybe the rest of the season??) to work on the new system, maybe get healthier with fewer minutes, maybe pick up a few things from a guy who coached nash at a pretty high level.

and saying 'I told you so' after one game of triano is pretty silly. can we not give him some more time? (say, like, maybe the rest of the season?)

same shit, different coach.

Papa -

Couldn't agree more. No Calderon has not looked like himself (even from the first three games) but to suggest he should be traded, or that we should have kept Ford, etc. is well...the reason why some Raps fans drive me nuts and we get a bad rap.

It wasn't that long ago that everyone was begging for Calderon to start and for TJ to move on. The performances lately are not his fault. Has he been perfect? No. But I could point to a variety of other issues.

Calderon is and will continue to be a strong PG in this league.

Oh and one other point. It pained me to write key #1 to tomorrow's game but it's true. This team just needs to come out with a solid effort.

Baby steps at this point.

Word is ... our transition game has changed from last year.

AB bashing is now JC bashing.

Hate to dwell on it but is Calderon really a great starting point guard? If it's injury impacting his play so much then when he gets healthy and starts being as exceptional as many think he might be I'll be the first to admit wrongness with the themes of my most recent comments but I think sometimes we get locked into choir think. It was the degree of the jump in quality of play from year one to year two that might have skewed our perceptions on his value. I was a proponent of trading BOTH Ford & Calderon after last season (thoughts I kept to myself before becoming a regular poster here) because neither of them struck me as a game changer and we would have been better served with someone more balanced offensively and defensively who could withstand the long season. Such a risk could have addressed all of the team's deficiencies, but only one was traded.

The thought process behind bringing up the trade scenario from this morning was that obviously this season is a disappointment thus far and we really don't have that many assets to move to recharge this year's efforts before we might have to totally give up. Of the assets we do have, the one who would invite the most value without hurting the team substantially long term if we lost him would be Calderon. The suggestion of Nash was both a short and long term view and how such a player could be helpful now and leave us with flexibility later if it doesn't work (he's another 2010 free agent).

I admire size at all spots and thus have a strong interest in Ukic developing further and becoming a very serviceable floor general who can hold his man in check.

Part of my philosophy on better basketball is that the point guard play exhibits his greatest value on the defensive end with his ability to disrupt the other team from getting into their offensive flow by really frustrating the other team's primary ball handler (in most cases their point guard). I would hazard to say that the key to a good defensive team is a good defensive point guard. I can see someone with Ukic's physical characteristics being in position to assume that role eventually. Nash was simply a stop gap solution that would allow the team to utilize its current strengths on the offensive end better in which case we could still be poor defensively and yet competitive game in and game out.

The point guard you are looking for is named Deron Williams. Unfortunately, I do not think he is available in a trade. Realistically, Calderon has always been a defensive liability and probably always will be. I just think trading him for Nash is a waste as it is a stop gap measure at best and one that isn't going to lead anywhere. If you are going to trade Calderon (and I think he is the last guy not named Bosh to be traded) then you need to trade him for multiple fixes and Basketball never seems to work that way. His contract is also longer then most players and people will be reluctant to take on PG who (as you think anyway) really isn't a quality starter. In essence he is over paid (according to you) and no one will take him and give you back anything of value.

The Suns may be looking to unload salary but it defeats the purpose to take back 3/4 of Nash's salary for more years. The most tradeable commodities on this team are the players whose contracts are expiring at the end of this year (I Believe its Parker, Solomon, and Maybe Joey) as teams will look to carve cap space for the 2009 FA Jam (Boozer is free I think, along with some other decent players). I mean if we are going to trade Calderon away after being the starter for all of 18 games then lets trade Bosh away as well and start from scratch. I know it is a little melodramatic but PG's like the ones you are talking about do not grow on trees. I just don't think taking on Nash's Salary is feasible as no one at this point is going to add 20 million to their roster to add JO. Sorry, it just isn't going to happen (the man is hurt and everyone is going to be nervous about taking him on and trading anything of value to get him). Unless of course you want to take on Ben Wallace (Cleveland) and some useless bodies from Cleveland as I think he is probably the only guy who you could get back right now.

Sam was not the problem!!! Except for CB4, JO and Jose players on this roster lack heart, confidence and basketball IQ.

BC has done a terrible job this put the roster together. The bench is a bunch of D-Leaguers.

TJ and Sam are gone, can't wait to see who you people who think you know basketball turn on next before you realize the real problem...

stevieG: then what's the real problem? BC?

look, i know this team is not playing as well as we thought but BC cant be to blame. many of us during the preseaon thought this was gonna be the year to go further in the playoffs. the players just need to forget about everygame after the new jersey meltdown... because our team confidence just went downhill! i think BC did a fine job collecting pieces of the puzzle and trying to
build a masterpiece. the puzzle is almost there, but colangelo just needs more time to connect it all together. building a great team will take time. so chill everyone and let BC work his magic.

the great thing about our GM is that hes always active on the market and theres many talk about him trying to pull some trades before the deadline. so just wait...and chill.

Ok, McGateway, since it's Saturday and we're having some fun...why would trading Bosh necessarily mean starting from scratch? The roster as it is is imbalanced because of the wing deficiencies. Andrea just moves to the four. He is already better defensively, and the Bosh trade gets you the pieces you need everywhere else. Two things as a drawback, Bosh's salary isn't super large ala JO's and the 2010 issue would be a problem for whatever team is taking him on. He is the best player we've maybe ever had thus far when you account for attitude on the court (until recently) so I would hesitate to even go there but I wouldn't close the door on it completely. He has deficiencies, again on the defensive end where most want to see the team improve before they consider the team championship calibre. But let's just call for a moratorium on trade suggestions for the next week or so just to see what kind of progress this team makes with more practice. Btw, never did say Calderon was overpaid, just think he's overvalued on this team in terms of a willingness not to consider moving him. As fans I think it's ok to look at everyone on this roster and ask, is this person's talent and mental make up something that projects to a solid piece on a championship level team. Right or wrong my friend, the debate is always enjoyable.

stevieG: then what's the real problem? BC?

look, i know this team is not playing as well as we thought but BC cant be to blame. many of us during the preseaon thought this was gonna be the year to go further in the playoffs. the players just need to forget about everygame after the new jersey meltdown... because our team confidence just went downhill! i think BC did a fine job collecting pieces of the puzzle and trying to
build a masterpiece. the puzzle is almost there, but colangelo just needs more time to connect it all together. building a great team will take time. so chill everyone and let BC work his magic.

the great thing about our GM is that hes always active on the market and theres many talk about him trying to pull some trades before the deadline. so just wait...and chill.

LIKE I SAID BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR?

Changing Sam was not the answer and will not be the answer. How said it is to see a Guy get Canned for the team lack of effort.

Worst 2/3 Guards in the League. I love saying that !!! because it is true...

Raptors fan, like it or not this team will continued to lose and continued to get blown out. This team is SOFT no toughness no Heart.

Bosh is a great player but not a the level of Garnett or Duncan. These guys are great but have toughness, play will passion and intensity night in and night out. Bosh does not have that. No killer mentality. And this is what going to keep him for achieving the ultimately prize of MVP.

Last night guys where getting lay after F**k**g lay up and Bosh and Bargs just let them. No hacking, no figgin toughness. Hit a guy hard enough so he knows this is your area. For God sake give a hard foul get "T" up do whatever it takes. Shit if you going to lose lose with passion. Hell at someone do something.

I see more fire and toughness from my teammates playing pick up ball then I see from the entire Raptors team.

I won't say anything else I will save all my angry for tomorrow after we get blown out by 40 again.

Ohh yeah didn't I say I hope we got Blown out by Utah so BC could realize that this team just can do it night in and night out we have THE WORST 2/3 GUARDS IN THE LEAGUE WHO SCORES TWO POINTS A GAME IN THE PAINT and a SF how cannot guard "Shit from Fly"...How pathetic....

I really hope BC do something quick before he loses us fans. This is not the Leaf....We won't wait until we a 85 years old before they make it to the playoff again.

Amongst other things, b-ball is a game of balance between coaching, systems and rosters. Sloan dispatched Hump and made Millsap outplay our franchise player. And we somehow hope Hump will help us when he'll be back from injury...
We need coaching and systems before we realize what roster suits them both. We want to run when we play 3 bigs in the starting line-up? When we get outrebounded in almost every game? We make Jose look like the worst defensive PG in NBA only because we have no defensive system that hides his weaknesses (CP3, Tony Parker, Steve Nash are as bad defensively however the system protects them and use them to their strengths).
Mitchell was an awful coach who thought that grit and determination can outplay smart defensive and offensive systems and strong tactical moves during games. It takes an unbelievable amount of luck to win only with grit and determination, ingrediens that are necessary but not suficient to be an elite team.
As for the future, I have no problems losing CB4 and JO in 2009 or 2010 if we bring a great coach (Messina would be fantastic) and true "alpha" players. In order to prepare for that though, we need to bring Andrea from the bench as the first big and play Graham as starting SF in a running mentality. This way we'd prepare Andrea for the eventuality CB4 will bolt and we'd reduce CB4 minutes.
IMO we have a very good team with no identity and floor chemistry. Triano will change some of that and we'll play much better one month from now.It takes time to heal though and we should be patient with our team.

i was happy to finally catch a televised raptors game here in taiwan on starsports... it's just a shame that they had to play so crappily...

the first 10 of their points scored in the game was exciting... unfortunately, as howland pointed out, their attempts to run and run came at the expense of their defence in transition... not to mention the rebounding... the raptor bigs' attempts to tap the rebounds out were all for naught as the guards appeared to just stand around and forgot how to jump.

the lone bright spot i took from this game was joey g's play. his TOs will always be there and we will just have to accept his ball-handling skills for what they are. his seemingly-hard holding foul on AK47 in the play following his "push" out of bounds by AK was an encouraging sign, not to mention roko's hard strip on AK as vicious D pointed out... so yeah, more burn for joey, please!

jamario... man, he is just horrid. i, too, was very annoyed by that TJ-esque play where he took the ball up the court and jacked the ball from the top of the key. if i can recall the sequence, that came after his lazy turnover to deron, did it not? i can also recall a missed raptor free-throw in which moon got the rebound, but instead of dunking the ball (as he was right under the net), he went for the layup instead and missed. had that been joey, i'm pretty sure he would've went up for the dunk!

i'm drinking the joey kool-aid now.

Canning Smitch wasn't the answer...Sam was not the problem...

Can you please for the life of me tell me what it was that Smitch was getting paid $ 4 million a season to do? He did the same ineffective thing day in and day out for 4 years. He refused to actually coach his team (at least in the conventional fashion where you actually create plays for your team that caters to it’s strengths, or actually have some type of system in place). How many timeouts would we see Sam huddled with the coaches while the players were huddled separately? Let me guess, he used telepathy to get the play transmitted into the players heads.

Other than motivating his players, (which he can no longer do), what is it that he does well as a coach? Please answer this question for us or quit stating that Smitch was not the problem. He had different rosters to play with over the years with the same result. Jay can't correct what Smitch built (or destroyed) in one flippin' game. Yet, we keep hearing from the Smitch sniffers "I told you that this team would play exactly the same with a different coach"... Thanks a bunch for the great insight after one game Nostradamus!

On another note, I don’t believe that this roster is perfect. We all know that we lack an athletic 3 who can slash and create his own shot. We just have too many nice pieces that haven’t been used properly. I think I’m done with this issue. ..and Sam!

I am not sure what to read in Olden performances of this season, were he a Raptor we would be hearing Oldenbust rants on a daily base. Should this teach Raptors overly agitated fan base some perspective?

Sorry for my rant last post, it wasn't directed at anyone specific. These are obviously tough times for the Raps. I still believe that this team will make a run once they iron out SOME of the kinks. Let's be honest, it is going to take some time to adjust to a new coaching philosophy. Even if it is only slightly different in nature. There must be a reason that Bosh called Jay an X’s and O’s coach.

As I have stated many times in the past. I really liked Smitch the person and always wanted him to succeed as our coach. I kept hoping to see improvements, but they just weren't there (or at least obvious). I do think that he was the right guy for the job when he first came in, but it's time for the team to get someone who is willing to try something new when things are not working. You look at Sloan's system (which was a treat to behold) and you ask yourself, if we had some sort of system in place where everyone knew their role and what was expected of them when they were on the court, wouldn't we see a better performance on the court (when to move, where to move, how to move on the court to create space for others)? In a system, every move a player makes is designed to open up the floor for someone else. Utah does this with perfection. This is all I want to see; our players being utilized EFFECTIVELY. The reason I have hope for Jay is because we didn't witness ANYTHING different or unique in games from Sam. This is why I believe that Sam was a problem and needed to be removed. Studying the game, not just to point out to players their mistakes, but to create adjustments or set plays against individual teams, just wasn't in his genetic makeup. Therefore, I believe that any coach who is willing to at least improve on this (even slightly) can see some success with this roster of somewhat talented players. You are not talking about a team of a bunch of scrubs, even though you wouldn't know it sometimes. This is why I ask the Sam supporters to please tell me why Sam is a good coach. If you can't respond to that question without saying that he once was a great motivator, then you in turn should change your stance and agree that he should have been removed. Whether we lose $6-7 million dollars over the next 2 years is irrelevant, since we were losing that money having him here as coach anyway. The problem is that we would have been losing our players as well....just my thoughts.

Sorry for the essay!

Attn: Raptors Fans

All we need is some "WIN" therapy..... either that or OHIP will have to start shelling out big bucks for treatments of Basketball induced hysteria with hyper bi-polar premature easter egg hunts, melancholic and ruminating despair... oh; and random yelling and arguing with lamposts - and perhaps excessive dribbling...

The comments in today's post are some of the worst ever. Did I click the wrong link and end up in RealGM?

How reactive can you be after one game?! Trade Jose for Nash? Firing Smitch changed nothing? It was one game!

Sam was fired because the team hadn't progressed in 4 years. The team looked like it plateaued mid season last year. Firing Sam may not solve all of our ills, but it was the right step to take.

Triano has been named as the INTERM coach. He will be replaced by a more worthy candidate unless he is able to do something amazing with this team. If we noticed ANY changes in game 1, after only one practice then that is enough. We are last in fast break points, and we ran a few more fast breaks yesterday. I say good enough.

I am curious if we know Mussina is the future coach. If he is, I Triano implementing similar sets that Ettore eventually will? If Triano is the team guy/yes man that people are accusing him of then this is a good thing long term.

As soon as the schedule came out, we all knew this would be a tough stretch. The west coast trip is always a killer. I don't think Sam got the boot just for losing games, he got the boot because the team had stopped evolving. Triano taking the helm and facing Utah and Portland is tough, but lets not jump off the bridge.

Jenge, I think you just said what I wanted to say in a much funnier way.

I hope another move going forward will be to return Bargs to his back up role. With JO, CB4, AB and maybe a dash of Hump covering the bigs, that will be a position of strength and spreading the minutes will help us run.

Joey's emergence helps out at the wing, he should be backing up Kapono. I don't know if Joey can back up the SG as well, but if he can't we still don't have anyone backing up Parker. Shame too because AP looks like he could use some rest.

People are really getting too down on Jose. Yes his D is weak. The reason we all preferred him over TJ last year wasn't his PG stats, it was what how the team improved with him on the floor. Having Roko as the back up is the only move that makes sense. I am not sure that Roko is the next saviour, or even the next Jose, but there is no upside in having Soloman be our back up.

Interesting article from Wages Of Wins: http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/sam-mitchell-learns-that-bad-shopping-can-get-you-fired/

It appears ont a lot of people think that highly of the talent on this team. Sure, I can get the argument that Sam had been here for a while and it was time to get a new, fresh voice in the mix... But I can't buy Colangelo's line that this team is good and it wasn't being maximized under Sam, blah blah blah.

As the article suggests, in the case of Sam Mitchell, he had to cook with the groceries he had...

As I am watching the Portland game, I couldn't help but think about the former #1 overall picks, Bargnani and Oden. Everyone always talks about how Boston lost out on the Oden / Durant sweepstakes, but didn't the Raptors lose out on one of those guys too? Everyone forgets this now, but when the Raps had the pick in 2006, this was also the year that Stern imposed his new draft rule making players right out of high school ineligible. This rule essentially thwarted the Raps chance of taking either Durant or Oden over Bargs. Assuming both Durant and Oden declared in ’06, wouldn’t it have been a different outcome? I love how Andrea is turning it around now, and I’m not even sure if I would want the question marks that surround Oden but I have a hard time not wondering what could have been if Stern didn’t decide to change the draft rules when he did…

Bob, you know, the grass always looks greener over the fence, I look at olden playin and I cannot stop asking myself what the fuss is all about on him. Sure, I have seen him playing just twice, so far, nothing to write home about. Were he playing for Toronto he would have been ripped apart (not by me). I am getting a bit tired of all the woulda, coulda, shoulda.....

anyone who says they played well in this game is an idiot. same old crap:

lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose.

i can't wait until bosh leaves so we can get some real players in here instead of all these punk-ass mofos.

first watchavble raps game in a while, competed, just got beat. Don't know about the final "play" though, bosh take your blinders off...

get a defensive rebound and thegam eis over

Great play calling Triano.

Hey look at that, last in the Atlantic!

Tough loss, but I still see light at the end of the tunnel. Playing Portland that close is good, and I never found myself wondering why Triano made an odd substitution nor did he leave anyone in way too long.

Excellent game from JO, looks like he is getting healthy again. What is up with Bosh getting lit up again? I thought he learned D at the olympics. If you're gonna talk the talk, you better walk the walk.

I'm going to keep on harping on about putting AB back onto the bench. JG and Kapono can hold down the fort until something else happens. Maybe some consistency for them will allow them to improve.

Deafeningly quiet in here after that loss.

MAS,

Thanks for the link. The problem with this article is that it doesn't say anything about how Sam cooks everything the same way regardless of what ingredients he has. A steak with HP sauce is delicious. HP sauce on broccoli...not so much! I think that this kitchen definitely needed a new cook, regardless of what this article suggests.