Tip-In, Toronto Raptors Post-Game: Missed Opportunity

Jose Calderon has the making of a super star. Just think of how much playing time He has in the league and how He is playing. Tonight He realized His team was missing shots and took the game into His hands. This guy can score and I think We have only seen the beginning of how good He will be.

Davl: Jose our Lord?

I actually have no problem with Bosh putting pressure on his teammates, even if he himself is having an off-game. As long as he is including himself in the criticism.

All our needs have one name: AK47.

Too much Plan A.

I love that name for it, by the way. On some nights, it's like watching a 12 man heat check out there.

I realize this wasn't Evans' intention, but wasn't it great symbolism when Brixon subbed in for Jose? At that point, Jose had been too reliant on Plan B and it was time to sub in the ultimate 'A' guy to save the day. Again, not the intention of the actual moment, but I had a good chuckle when it happened.

Delfino is frustrating to watch. But last night he was finishing at the rim so i was happy. Add Oberto to the various bosh stoppers. So Varejo/Collins/Wallaces/Turiaf/Moore. Am I Missing Anybody?

Yeah I'm not too upset about the loss, in fact I think the raps set a new record for going to Plan B. If they'd done that from the tip, they'd have won. Delfino and Calderon did a nice job atttacking towards the end, AP was shut down by, and exhausted from fruitlessly trying to keep up with, manu ginobli. Moon, however, was a major dissapointment, jacking threes instead of the extra pass, not going to the hoop. I can only take two or three more years of this!!

I agree with your comments on bargs, although I can see why Evans stuck with rasho down the the stretch as he did his usual nice job on Duncan.

Have to weigh in on the Bosh comment too. Nobody shuts down the low-post entry pass better that San Antonio. Bosh just could not get set up down there and our best guy to throw that pass is Garbo. That said, bosh pissed me off when he got the mismatch on jaque vaughn and took a turn around fadeaway instead of going straight at him and you're right, he shot too many jumpers. But he shouldn't have to be a one man team when Plan A fails.

At the end of the day, my hopes weren't high for beating the spurs after we beat them on their court. They were ready and they were aggressive early so they deserved it.

I was at the game last night. And right before the Spurs inbounded on that final play, I turned to my buddy and said "Spurs will miss the shot but then get the offensive board".

It's just happened so many times over the past 1 year or 2 that I've come to expect it. So frustrating.

I was at the game last night and I guess I am less forgiving than Franchise and the other posters.

The final score was not an indication of how poorly we played. The offense was in shambles, the defence - not much better. Only José and the fact that a high-percentage of the many, many, low percentage shots happened to go in kept us in this game. How many times did Jamario jack up the long two or three? Try every time! Are you kidding me? I wanted to go over to the bench in a time-out, slap him and say "Repeat after me. I will drive to the hoop. I don't care if I get blocked. I don't care if I get fouled. I don't care if I get owned by Robert "Hip-Check" Horry. I will drive to the hoop." Then slap him again just so he gets the message.

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but if you watch this Wednesday's game, look for it. The bread & butter of our offence is the pick and roll. Unfortunately, after the pick, NOBODY IS ROLLING! Bargnani pops up to the 3-point line leaving José on 2 and plenty of time for the defence to rotate on Bargs. Bosh pops to just above the foul-line and hucks up a long jumper (as he's apparently unable to post up Michael Finlay or Bruce Bowen on the rotation without putting his shoulder into them for the offensive foul). Watch on Wednesday, we're no longer a pick and roll team, but a pick and pop Plan A team.

Some other points from the game:

Seemed like Manu never missed.

Bosh looked off. Aside from the mismatch axl mentioned, he had a mismatch on Mighty Mouse and also faded back and shot a jumper. I know its tough, but Bosh has got to step his aggression against teams with great interior D like the Spurs and the Pistons.

The Spurs' ball movement is fun to watch.

I love watching Rasho play D. He is so solid. He's always in the proper position and he's always swiping at the ball. Yet he doesn't seem to pick up any silly touch fouls. He was great on Timmy D.

Jason Collison? Freudian slip?

Here's a fun new game: take a drink every time Leo says 'aggressive'.

"Davl: Jose our Lord?"

You took the words right out of my mouth benjibopper...hahaha!!!

Good read, love the Count Chocula. Not boxing out the last shot? We were down three anyway, so a dunk wouldn't have tied...inexusable.

That was so typical, the Raps really do miss key boards throughout the game. How many losses this season are DIRECTLY attributable to this? At least five.

I agree Bosh shooting way too much.

Although obviously the same is true for Moon, he actually drained a few last night....it's just that the ball has a better chance of going in when you can get two feet over the rim and drop it in.

Jose...amazing. Almost time for me to stop using the specially made Rob Babcock toilet paper rolls.

Maybe we'll eventually see Jose/TJ together on the court for apx. 10 mins a game?...therefore allowing each to play 30+ mpg.

Update on TJ's wrist anybody?

Franchise - you were talking about turning points...How about that late game offensive /loose ball/ rebounding foul call on Oberto (or was it Horry)?

As soon as I saw the call, I immediately started to tally up the free throw points in my mind. Problem was, the Raps weren't in the bonus and had to inbound the ball.

Had they been more aggressive (takes drink) earlier, they might have had some free points after that gift call.

benjibopper lol 4am night shifts do funny things to a guy

TIm - So funny you said that. I went to bed post Warriors game (what a comeback) and was lying there thinking...wait...did I put Jason COLLISON?? And not only that, but I butchered MIKKI Moore's name...yep, problems with posting at 2 AM.

Sam Bowie - Great point on the pick and roll. Lately it has all been pick and pop. They run that play it seems so that Bosh can get an open look from the top of the key instead of him having to fight down low. That's fine, but when he's settling for the shots and not making them, and when Jacque Vaughn is guarding you and you try some Kobe-esque shot instead of going to the rim, it's pretty frustrating to watch. San Antonio's ball movement is a thing of beauty and Toronto needs to strive for that.

The other thing last night that I noticed is just how tough it must be for Mitchell, or Evans, at times to decide who to play. Jamario did probably the best job on Manu, yet was a liability on offense. Kapono had the quick trigger going, but ugh, 0 defensive ability. And Delfino was hot and cold in both areas.

Can we start our long win streak now? I thought we were supposed to go on a win streak. Oh yeah, we never go on a win streak!

This season has been the same thing over and over, we never seem to overcome our team's weaknesses. We keep getting so excited after wins we should get and saying, if only we could play like that against a good team. I hated that loss to Washington, win a game, loss to LA, win a game, loss to SA.

I just wish we would win a couple of the games we weren't supposed to win! It seemed like we did that all the time last year. We played our game and only we could beat ourselves. This year, lots of teams really seem able to beat us. We took a giant leap forward last year, but that is how we positioned ourselves. We went into last year with TONS of capspace and the #1 overall pick. Coming into this year, we added Kapono for the entire MLE.

The time will come soon enough (judging by everyone's contract, it will come after next season), that we will need an honest assessment of our needs. Bargnani as a C might not work, Moon may never develop, Ford may be too small to stay injury free.

I love our depth. I actually think pro atheletes should be athletic, and outside of Martin we are very solid 1-14. But maybe we just need our top 3 guys to be better. Maybe we need to make that dramatic shake up and put our money on our starters. Most of our bench is so good, that there aren't huge differences between them - so do we need to be 3 deep at every position? Hump has replaced Garbs, not as well, but well enough. This is a ramble now, but maybe someone who agrees could phrase this better for me! I'm frustrated.

Check this out:

http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=300023403&start=0

Arenas slams Calderon in his blog, and is getting swamped with Raptor fan replies. Check out the replies, hilarious.

I don't get it.
Not to pick on JMoon but how is it that a rookie from the D league can continue to ignore all the coaches requests in countless games to shot less and penetrate more? How can newbies get away with it, especially with Mitchell?

Robert Archibald: I agree, and I'd love to see us go for a 2/3 with near-future all-star potential, and I'd be happy to give up guys like Kapono, Delfino, Rasho, to do it. I like each of those players but if we could swing some some kind of package deal how sweet would that be? Wishful thinking most likely.

Dayoner - Totally agree, yeah moon hit a couple, but if someones going to be shooting, it should be kapono, AP, caldy I don't know why moon thinks it's his game to shoot really at all. I almost don't like it when moon hits a shot, it just encourages him.

On moon also, I wanted to mention during the t-wolves game was that for whatever reason, I could hear a lot of the on-court chatter. It was mostly, "moon, up top", "moon, stay on him", etc. The guy has some bball to learn yet. I expect a huge improvement next year after he really gets a chance to watch some tape.

His timing great, he's fast on his feet, but he seems to be struggling mentally with the speed of the game right now.

Why has J-Dix been on a shooting slump all year... i understand lack of playing time... but still. My name is Oberto.. how can this guy D-up CB4? Calderon's beautiful game... put to waste... no wonder he looks to pass... but againt the spurs it understandable. Ginobli! Dude is incredible. We need DEFENSE... the microcosm of Toronto's year...Delfino's play at the end or lack thereof. I thought Mike Evans did a stellar job taking over for Slammin' Sam. Can't wait to see Wince tomo @ the ACC... the boo bird will be singing gracefully. Should be interesting seeing Triano on the sidelines again. I think BC is ready to make a move... Joey G/Dixon might be on the way out...

Bosh's play against good teams who concentrate on stopping him is a growth area that needs work. He needs to get lot's of film on Duncan and Garnett and figure out how the 2 best Superstars @ his position do it. You do not see either of them being stopped by doubles. A very poor effort from Bosh, who the Rap's depend on for scoring and aspires to have Superstar status.

I'm loving the beating that Arenas is taking on his blog. Favourite quote so far:

"you should have never been an all-star. you are a mediocre guard and that's why you are not part of the US national team. You lost the position to Hinrich for christ sake!"
By trajchel

If anyone needs a good laugh, check out some of the responses to Gilbert's idiotic blog post. There are about 200 comments from ravenous Raptors fans right now...even the Gilbert backers seem to be shaking his head at his idiocy. Could Gilbert be the new Vince Carter??

Wow, I have a feeling Hibachi is gonna try and KILL the raps in his next game. Great entertainment. Perhaps this will help liven the already blossoming Raps/Wiz Rivalry.

It's now official what the raps need: Manu. Of course it's a pipe dream, but if I could have one player in the nba to join the raptors, I'd have to go with Manu.

Speaking of can we make a play for artest? He would help our wing/post defending, team defense, O and D rebounding and he'd still be an upgrade on the offensive end over moon. Sac just wants a pick and an expiring contract. BC can't make this work? If he ends up being a nutcase (which I think is way overblown with him), we could just not resign him (assuming he wouldn't take the option) and use the new cap space for someone else.

I wonder if Marcia's gonna join the anti gilber show respect to JC band wagon =P

btw: here's HQ's post

Oh Gilbert, no wonder you didn't want to have an online chat with us at RaptorsHQ.com...your basketball IQ surely would have shone through.

Considering your ignorance towards David West, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that you compared Jose Calderon to Kevin Ollie. Lots of readers have thrown out stats but the one that really clinches things is Calderon shooting over 50 per cent from the field, 40 per cent from beyond the arc, and 90 per cent from the line. The only other player to do that in comparitive minutes?? - Steve Nash.

Without Jose this year, Bosh or no Bosh this Raptors' team would be toiling with the Nets and 76ers...

by raptorshq Feb 12, 2008 2:04 PM

Hey guys. For anyone interested, here's the Raptors-related tidbits in John Hollinger's latest chat...

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Adi (New York): How did Johnson get to the All star over Calderon?

SportsNation John Hollinger: (3:23 PM ET ) There is no rational explanation for how that happened. Incidentally, there's still a chance Jose makes it if Caron Butler bows out -- it would basically come down to Calderon, Shawn Marion (hi, I'm in the East now), Ray Allen, Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Smith.

===

Chris Franklin, Ontario: What sort of trade should the Raptors make to give them a serious shot at winning the championship this year?

SportsNation John Hollinger: (3:11 PM ET ) A completely unfair one. Look, Toronto has a nice team and they can make some noise in the playoffs, but I think title talk is more than a little premature.

===

nathan (san antonio): with arenas completely dissing jose calderon, do you see him putting up 30+ points or 20+ assists in the next couple weeks just to prove himself? i can't wait for arenas to get back and have him play jose.

SportsNation John Hollinger: (3:55 PM ET ) Did anyone else see that Calderon scored 13 points on just four shots the other night? With 10 assists and just one turnover? People don't seem to always get this, but if you put up numbers while hardly using any possessions, it also means there's a ton left over for your teammates to score with.

John Hollinger: (3:56 PM ET ) One other thing about Arenas -- he made the point that a lot of crappy backup PGs have great assist-turnover ratios, and he's right. The difference with Calderon is that he also has an insanely high assist-per-minute rate. In other words, he's not just doing the risk-free backup PG thing -- he's creating shots but doing it with hardly any mistakes. That's incredibly difficult.

===

Kyle (ATL): John.... Josh Childress has been playing awesome lately. If ATL decides they wont be able to keep Childress this offseason, and throw in a few short term contracts, how good of a player can they get?

SportsNation John Hollinger: (3:57 PM ET ) The problem is I don't think other teams appreciate how good Childress has been -- he's got the Calderon "I just don't think of you that way" disease.

Did I just read that if there was anybody a certain poster could add to the raptors it would be manu?

Manu over Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Lebron James, Kobe??

It was one game....lets tone it down

Also there is a reason Jamario Moon was in the d-league until he was 27 and theres a reason he's only making 500 000. Its because he's not a superstar....if your expecting him to rebound, block shots, defend and then on top of that score 14 points a game you need to wake up.....once again theres a reason he was in the d league until now.

thnak you for calling out Bosh: he is the franchise player but when he is not only 3 of 11 but all 11 are missed jumpers between early turnovers, he is not immune to being accountable. Just wonder if that's where Sam was mossed most last night.
Love Moon and his story but he needs to be coming off the bench and either Delfino starts or BC adds a 3 with some D -- what would it take to get Childress from the Hawks?
Thought Bargs was real good on Duncan as was Rasho: Duncan is just good but he wasn't the determining factor -- Raps not showing up early was even with Manu doing his thing.

They are actually deleting some posts from the Arenas blog.

I wrote in this morning totally dissing him without being vulgar and it was deleted!

The comments say "108" but 5 hrs ago I saw 160 on there. 95% of the posts were telling him how much he sucked, oh that was classic man.

Hopefully he gets the picture that he's pissed off a country of crazy pacifists.

in defense of bosh - the spurs were obviously trying to shut down bosh and force the rest of the team to beat them (and not just his shot, but the pass out of the double team too). The rest of the team couldn't pull it off. Bosh is amazing one on one player, but one on two+ - he's just going to get hurt.

Costa - Thanks for the chat wrap recap - some good stuff in there. It's funny but Hollinger has always been pretty pro-Raptors...wonder if he's scared to incur our wrath!

wtf, my point about Manu was that he would fit seamlessly in with the type of team the Raptors are trying to be. Because of his lack of ego, his versatility, and the obvious fit into the Raps system (by that I mean more than just that he's foreign).

If Howard, or Lebron etc. were on the Raptors, the team would be, a powerhouse undoubtedly, just not much like the team BC has currently built.

Ultimately, I was trying to say Manu is the "type" of player the Raps need, in response to earlier discussions of Josh Smith etc.

But yea, obviously I was not trying to say that Manu is the best player in the NBA, and htus the most desirable asset.

Well, from where I stand, there's not that much need to hedge your bets. He might not be *the* best, but I'm very comfortable saying I think he's in the top 10.

Yup, I'll say it again even more decisively... I think Manu Ginobili is one of the top 10 players in the NBA.

Any thought on whether Moon might be a bit distracted with the dunk contest coming up? His whole game seems to have slid since getting the game.

I'm willing to agree with both of you.

LA, Manu is exactly the type of player the Raps need. Kobe and Lebron can be selfish at times to the detriment of the team. I am not saying that they are not incredible (I am not a madman), I just understand what you mean when you say that Manu fits into what the Raps are trying to create, a team-oriented style of basketball. You want players to work together for the greater goal of the team and winning.

Was it not suggested just a few weeks back that if Kobe scores 50 on the Raps, we probably win. That argument was presented based on Kobe’s history with the Lakers the last few years. Kobe scores a bunch, but fails to get the rest of his teammates involved. Is it better to have a Kobe Bryant who scores 45 points on your team and Bosh scores 15, or to have Kobe scoring 35 points and having Bosh score 25? I would think the latter, because it means that teams have to focus on two superstars and have a difficult time deciding who to doubleteam. That Friday night game could have easily gone in the Raps favour had Kobe missed a few of those ill-advised shots.

Mind you, since Pau has joined the Lakeshow, Kobe is more than willing to share a piece of his pie…just my thoughts.