Tip-In, Toronto Raptors Post-Game: Thunder and Lightning

TJ sucks.. there, beat everyone to it.

The players are starting to talk....

Parker: "If we win, it doesn't matter to me," he said. "When the ball moves around, I think it is better. You get better looks, people feel more involved, and from a defensive standpoint, it keeps you on your heels instead of being able to attack because you know what is coming.

"We just have to find the balance between T.J. being able to do what he does. He did some good things. He did a lot of good things. He got to the basket and got to the free-throw line, but I think we can make it a little bit easier for him."

...it's cute how in the end he tries to be diplomatic.

Turned off the TV when we're down by double digits in the first quarter. Most of the papers said said TJ carried the Raps. No having seen the game, I don't know who to believe. But TJ is a maddening player, so physically gifted yet emotionally immature. Case in point, he takes things too personally and whenever he's beaten defensively, he'd like to go one-on-one to show the other guy he's better. That's when he hurts his team. I guess, it'll be Colangelo's problem in the summer as Sam is not going to rein him in.

Anyone else notice how AB is trying to get under the basket on the defensive end for rebounds lately. He is also making a concerted effort to box out....me likes!

When you’re not AI.

I realize that there much I need to learn about this game of basketball but I know what I like when I see it. I like ball movement, crisp passes to the open man, drives into the paint to take advantage of rotations. What I don’t appreciate is 1 on 5 schoolyard basketball unless you are Kobe or AI or Michael Jordon. How many players like that come down the chute?

Unless TJ modifies his game, I find it hard to appreciate him even when he has the odd game when he successfully takes over a game. Since he’s no MJ we will lose more than win with that mindset to the detriment of the team approach that Colangelo has adopted. He can just as easily become a lesser version of Marbury if he doesn’t smarten up. I would much prefer for TJ to use his quickness to draw in the defence , pass to the open man and use his offensive skills in the flow of the game.

So I’ve said it. I don’t like TJ’s game if he thinks he’s the second coming of the above mentioned superstars.

So there, I’ve come out the closet…I feel freer already.

Both Doug Smith in today's article, and Grange in his blog tell it like it is regarding the TJ situation last night. I think only Ganter in the Sun feels otherwise....he obviously didn't watch the game.

tj talks the talk about wanting to be the best passing pg in the league, but as shown in the last 6 minutes of last nights game, he can't walk the walk. i really wish he'd get it through his head that basketball is a team game for the whole 48 minutes. street ball bravado needs to be checked at the door. taking baron davis on one on one, come on.

franchise - i agree. it is criminal that AP isn't getting the ball in the 4th quarter...the guy has been money lately.

A couple of points to add....

I thought Golden State's home crowd had a big impact on the final 5 minutes of the game. Their team was flat and they knew it. It looked like the Raps were rattled by the sudden increase in noise level.

It occurred to me as I was watching TJ hoist shot after shot, that nobody else on the floor had a clue where he was going to go or what he was going to do. Guys couldn't set screens or play off of him in any way, because none of them knew where he was going. Because of this, nobody is open and TJ almost becomes forced to shoot it. Of course, if they just ran a play, none of this would be a problem...and that's on the coach. Call a play, if he doesn't run it, bench him. It's that simple.

Wow Franchise,great interpretation of whats happening on the floor.I appreciate your pros and cons regarding the play of one T.J. Ford.....I agree the 1st half was like great T.J.'s back.We all feel that the west coast trip was going to be trying,but in all fairness we could of won those two games...of course with lady luck on our side,and a F** coach with a spine.Great point regarding "reporters" they are scared shitless of Georgio Armani.At the end of the day Brian will have a lot of decisions to make...everything starts at the top....Did you see BC"s expression in L.A. ? ...2 WORDS...BRAIN STINGER......sorry 2 more words JOSE GONE....I think he would like nothing better than to play with his world champiom teammate in L.A.
Hope I'm wrong and TJ can play at the "Y" in Texas

lol

maybe sam's trying to get tj traded.

maybe tj's trying to get sam fired.

The difference when Calderon is having a bad shooting night is he gives his teammates the chance to succeed. I don't care if TJ makes 10 of 10 shots. There is no way the TEAM will win a game like that.

Ok, I wasn't going to comment on the TJ thing but it has gotten to the point where he has become too much of a focus of all the things wrong with this team and although he is a contributor he is not the sole culprit.
1. BC - Yes, I blame BC because he didn't solve one of the key things I thought this team needed before the trade deadline. I like what Brezec has done with this team but I really felt that a 3rd PG would be more beneficial. If we had another PG all sorts of possibilities would open up. I mean what is Sam suppose to do? Calderon looks lost without Bosh and TJ has gone all Starbury on his ass but at least he is scoring so he has to leave him in there. The rest of the Raps aren't moving as well because they are all watching TJ. Maybe having a true PG backing Calderon up would let TJ do his thing without killing the entire offensive flow. The more I look at TJ's game the more I realise that with Bosh out a slight adjustment could be made that would make everyone happy. Bench Moon, move AP to SF and start TJ at the 2 spot. The only problem is, who handles the rock when TJ and Calderon are one bench. Oh yeah D. Martin. Oppps.
2. Mitchell - Ok I have already absolved him of some of the responsibility because like I said, what choice does he have. Calderon looks like he did last year, ok, but not as good as we saw earlier this year. TJ is scoring and he is almost unstoppable as there are very few people in the league who can guard him. What is a Coach to do? Well for one thing he could come up with a better game plan instead of just going with the flow. This is an area he needs to work on as obviously there is a reason why Calderon is struggling and it is a good coaches job to find a way to make him effective.
3. TJderon's team mates. I get that they are not sure what TJ is going to do or where he is going to go but that begs the question, Why not? I mean its not like he just got traded to them. For the last year and a half (before his injury) he was the starter now all of a sudden they don't understand his game? The reality is they have gotten a little lazy because they are used to standing at the 3 line to wait for Calderon and Bosh to play their 2 man game and get the scraps when teams collapse on Bosh. The lack of Bosh has negated that and TJ whose game really hasn't changed that much is stuck with everyone stanging around waiting for a kick out that can't happpen cause all the passing lanes are blocked.
4. Tj and Calderon. As said earlier, Calderon looks a little lost. As such his minutes have been cut back and Smitch doesn't trust him right now in Crunch time. TJ has to make an adjustment as well. He is acting like he is the starter and the offense is centred around him when in fact he needs to play with more control so that when he gets trapped under the hoop, he isn't throwing the ball against the back of the back board because he has nowhere else to go. He needs to realise that his teammates are not going to be in the positions he is used them being in and Calderon needs to find a way to play without Bosh.
Just my opinion

It was awesome watching that G-State team operate in the paint. That Pietrus drive and dunk in the 1st Q was crazy - no wonder people are/were drooling over his talent. The whole team is a ton of fun to watch, but you have to wonder where it will get them in long run. Maybe the second round again? Teams will be looking out for them this year.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall in that Raptors locker room right now. If only to see which side of this debate the coaches and the team are on. I know which side I'm on, so I'm hoping they at least see 'room for improvement' in TJ's game.

Here, here!!!

I must tell you that I really enjoy your blog. At lunch, every day, I start off reading Doug Smith's blog, go to ESPN, and you're third. Except, every day, I feel that you're the one who gets it - that you don't have to be on anybody's good side. That Sam Mitchell is being outcoached regularly, including allowing TJ to go unrestrained, is unacceptable. All we have to do is look at how Popovic does it - unless you are playing within the system, you're out of the game.

Keep it up.

Franchise,

Some excellent points in this article. Yesterday, I posted that I thought TJ was getting a raw deal on this site, (mainly from commenters/posters) as his options are limited due to the limited talent on this team However Franchise, you have put together a well thought out argument which and I agree with many of the points you have made. Especially in light of Anthony Parker’s comments. . I still believe that this team’s individual talent is limited and this dictates the types of offensive schemes that can be employed. Therefore, it is a difficult balance for TJ and the team. He sometimes is the team’s best option, however he has to do more as the point guard to get the rest of the team involved. I thought he did that for most of 2 quarters, then I went to bed and did not see the fourth quarter. I’ll take your word for it that he went one on one with Baron as Anthony Parker having ZERO shot attempts in the 4th is inexcusable.

It is great that Anthony Parker is regaining his top form, in my opinion he may well be the X factor in the playoffs. If he gets going like these last few games, the Raps chances go up dramatically because they're not as dependent on Bosh and the PGs.

Still worried about Moon though, from the stat line he doesn't look very good but i didn't get to watch these last few games... for those who did watch, how did he play?

Rubin - thanks for the props and an interesting point about Pop and the Spurs that bears discussion.

If you look at Tony Parker, a similar player in many respects, why is it that he "gets it." Duncan and Bosh are both the strong, silent leader types so that's not it's not like one has more of an effect over the other. And I'm not sure Pop and Mitchell are that different in terms of coaching style (knowledge base and tactical expertise is a completely different matter of course.)

So is it simply that Parker has never possessed that "chip on the shoulder, I need to go out and show the guy guarding me up" mentality?

Golden State has a glut of free agents this year... BC should definitely try and make a run at Pietrus, biedrins, or my main man Monte Ellis. We actually had a chance to Steal Mr. Ellis in the 05’ draft but Golden State snatched him up with the pick before us (#40). We did get a fellow by the name of Roko Ukic though, a player I hope will be in uniform for the RAPS next season.

The RAPS are such a well-rounded team, no one player will ever single out TJ Jacker. Even the hottest player on the team! "He got to the basket and got to the free-throw line, but I think we can make it a little bit easier for him." Man, talk about TEAM PLAYER and team cohesion. As soon as TJ got his 8 assists, he felt that it was his turn to start taking over the game offensively… just not professional. We need a guy like Oakley on our bench to give it to him straight; our team is way too soft. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if TJ IS A STARTER for the Denver game. The way things are going, I truly believe Smitch is going to start him once again. Maybe inserting him back in to the starting lineup will eliminate his ‘wacko’ play of late… well have to wait and see.

Don’t even get me started on Andrea "il softy" Bargnani. I can understand he’s still a kid in his second season, but dude needs to be coached and injected with a little desire (and maybe a little HGH). He just doesn’t get it; his play in the first quarter was horrendous… I’ve come to wonder if his basketball IQ is not all that it was hyped up to be… regardless on his rookie caliper tests, in which BC boasts of.

Ok so the raptors are struggling and I too am not pleased with what I'm seeing but I think there are actually a few positives coming out of this.

- We slide to 6th and play Orlando in the first round.

- AP! If AP can continue this play, and I think it has everything to do with confidence, when CB4 is back, look out.

- Bargs. He's being more aggressive, getting a few more boards but more importantly, he has 11 fouls in the last 7 games. There were times he was working on gett 11 in a quarter. Ok maybe an exageration, but 11 fouls in three games would not have been a stretch.

- Rasho! 12 pts, 7 brds, defence, tips and brains. Rasho is shaping into playoff form.

- Moon. I'm liking Moon's defence. Still not liking his wanting to pop threes, but his defence is good.

- New Defence strategies. The "1 and Box" they used on Kobe was pretty good. maybe something they can use on Lebron, or Arenas in the playoffs.

We need to get both of our PG's out of their slumps, Jose's physically, and TJ's mentally.

Get CB4 healthy, and refine our playoff rotation to Jose, AP, Moon, Bosh, Bargs, Rasho, Delfino, TJ. I think Delfino and Kap can be interchangeable into the 8 man rotation dependent on who's hot and opponent matchups. But I would feel good about the 8 man rotation I had above. If CB4 stays healthy, I can see playing him 36 - 42 mins a game. Bargs Playing 36. Rasho playing 16. Jose playing 30, TJ 18, AP 30, Moon 30, Delfino 22.

So I really think this slump can go a long way in helping this team get ready for the playoffs.

Or maybe kill any Mojo they had...who knows. Either way it should be evident to BC which PG needs to stay and which needs to go this summer. And on that note how about something built around a TJ Ford, Corey Maggete. But we have time to talk about that

Anthony Parker baby.
I really hope somebody in the coaching staff is realising that this guy needs the ball right now. I felt the same way last year when he was really hot. And the same way when Bosh is on fire in the first half. The list goes on... We aren't giving our players a chance to have the great games they could be having.
I wish there was an explanation right now for what happened in the fourth quarter with TJ and Sam not doing anything about it. There has to be something we don't know right now.
I agree with Rubin, you're just writing whats right, regardless.
Franchise for coach!

All the best, GO RAPS

Rahulan

You might want to put together a strategy on the Pistons 76ers closing fast and 7th is not out of the question.

IMHO If TJ starts will probably hurt Parker the most. Is it worth it????

One last note...

From my point of view, Moon hasnt been impressive lately. He's sort of been a ghost out there. Maybe we should try giving a start to delfino. Any thoughts?

I feel bad for having to write about our PG's when there are a lot of other issues with this team. However this team gets destroyed right now by 1 player and it sucks.
For all the people who would like to see TJ gets his starting position back, i do understand where this position is coming from. However it is proven and documented (Stockholm syndrome, amongst other things) that you don't reward something bad with a prize that good people (meaning good deeds) get only after serious efforts.
Nick, I'm sure anyone who has to play with TJ would like to play with the other PG's unit only because they have a chance of feeling they are NBA players and not some immature kids who cannot be trusted with the skills they developed in a lifetime of professional sports.
What's really interesting for me is that something like this can happen: in any organization, including those based on talent more than structure (ad industry, professional guilds, etc.) a TJ's character would be spewed out quite quickly. A bad contract can ruin an organization and that's odd to me that the owners accept this situation.

TJ = Nash? I wonder if Nelly realized back in November that his comments would ultimately contribute to a Golden State win in March.

Not much time to post, but all this talk of getting rid of Sam and TJ is so heartening. The day when I hear TJ's name in a confirmed trade and whomever replaces Sam at the microphone in a press conference at the ACC will be good days. I hadn't heard AP's veiled quotes about TJ's play. That's my boy!!! TJ is not going to change. Many people in here are no better than that chick which everyone feels bad for because she blindly believes her boyfriend or husband will eventually stop heavily drinking (or something of that nature).

It is frustrating to watch Tj in the last 5 minutes of fourth quater, but I have to say it is not entirely his fault that raptors lost the last two games. As a team offensively, the raptors shot 50% and went to the line 20 times in the GS game and 46.1% and 22 at the line in Lakers games. That is pretty decent offensively and considering how much raptors stuggled in first quater, raptors offence run by Tj is pretty good. If the raptors manage to hold both the GS and Lakers under 50% shooting those could be 2 wins or at least very close down the wire.

Of course there are certain prosessions that Tj should at least try to get some ball movement and get his teammates invovled, but saying Tj lost the game is a bit biasd. One can't blame raptors defence on Tj and Calderon also struggled.

I say Tj's ball hogging the the GS game is more due to sam and Don Nelson's line up.
The raptor's bigs (Barg and Hump on the court in last 5 min I think) stay on the 3 point line and being guarded by quicker smaller players. Since there is no scoring in the paint for the raps, GS is able to play man to man. So even if Tj swing the ball side to side around the 3 point line, it would be either Parker or Barg playing one on one with their defender. Since parker is guarded by the more atletic guard, Tj became the best option going agaist Baron. I think before we all agree to trade Tj we should wait until bosh come back and see how he plays.

A couple of quick things:

(1) We do need an Oakley. We've seen what someone with a lot of talent can do to a team if they're destructive and selfish. Oakley didn't give a crap if it was Vince Carter or Zan Tabac or whoever. Someone needs to slap TJ and call it like it is.

(2) Franchise: The gladhanding media are definitely "on the take". Its a sad day when the critics and analysts are the greatest supporters, and diffusers of the whole situations. They are simply self-sensoring. Eric Smith had an unintentionally illuminating entry in his blog. They travel with the team, are pals with the team, and are "MLSE affiliates" in some way.

(3) There was ZERO flow to the Rap's offence in the fourth. Even if TJ hits 6 of those 10 (which he never does), there are 4 other guys standing around.

Fun game to watch.....but until andrea/tj can be a consistent force on the offensive end. Thing that frustrates me the most.....is when one of the raptors are hot, they never continue to get the ball. parker in this game, but it happens to andrea as well. i know the defense adjusts, but camman! well im hoping the raptors come into form when bosh comes back

yes JYD - I didn't watch the last two games, but I don't see how tj's antics in the fourth lost this game when their defense allowed a 20 point lead in the first quarter.

I mean who's man scoring? I can bet it was moon/delfino/kapono's. Those are the guys I'm souring on, not one of our best players, who's major malfunction is... scoring too much??

wow TJ's major malfunction isnt scoring too much...its shooting too much and not doing what a point guard is supposed to do. Theres a big difference, between scoring too much and shooting too much, especially when the shots hes taking are bad shots in a 1 on 5 scenario.

and the fact that you said TJ is one of our best players right now made me throw up a little, please watch the games before you make statements like that, dont just read the boxscore.

axl, your post becomes completely irrelevant by the 9th word. Watch the games. Sure they got down early, but when they finally shook off the schlacking and got it together to take a 1pt lead last night, everything was TJ's fault. That is in no way an exaggeration. I can't remember if it was when they went back by 3 or 5 off the top of my head, but the ball was in TJ's hands (big surprise, I know). I kid you not man, he dribbled on the spot for 10-12 seconds, made one little dump off (to Delf I think), wanted it back, got it for whatever reason, dribbled on the spot for another 8 seconds or so, and then hucked up a brick from behind the 3pt line. The guys an idiot under pressure, and I assure you this play summarized his play pretty well.

I missed most of the last two games (rare), with no Bosh, staying up just wasn't happening, I tried.

But judging by the comments.....the games sounded pretty interesting, yet somewhat scary.

For the record, I think TJ is one of our best players, but don't wanna be arguing about it ...more of "potentially" one of our best, I guess....yeah he should have been born a bit taller and been a SG. Anyway not a great week to be a TJ defender, I take it.

Glad to see Parker getting hot.

Is it me, or has this season lost a lot of air? It's like most of us have zero expectations now....kind of like going into a movie being told that it's crap, and then enjoying it precisely because of that negative hype (it wasn't as bad as hyped).

If we get to the 2nd round it'll be like our little championship, I think; us hardworking bloggers, posters and fans deserve it...oh sorry did I type that? I was drifting off there....Dreamin!

This is way more fun than posting about politics...that makes me wanna puke a little.

Defense wins in playoffs, that's my point. TJ hating is way, way down my priority list as a raps fan.

If the raps can't get stops, they (almost) might as well *not* steal wins through ball sharing, entertaining, non-frustrating "raptors basketball" because we're headed for an early exit anyways.

I personally think we don't have even remotely good enough man-to-man defense at the sf position.

Even Mopete (or garbo even), who is an average defender could lock down most sf's (no, not saying kobe) enough to give the raps some stops down the stretch, plus 10 points. Kapono, delfino and moon don't give us that combined against good sfs. Against lower talent sure, but they're nowhere near the players that the raps need to get to the next level.

It's too bad really because the rest of team has improved and that spot is horribly inconsistent and un-clutch.

Here's why I get frustrated with the Raps. I play ball in an old fat guys league made up of ex college players etc and in a game when we are being burned by an outside shooter, we will call a time out and someone is appointed to "stay out" on the shooter. We say make him drive to the hoop - no more jump shots and most times our guy manages that. If the guy scores 50 points off the drive then at least we chose the poison. Why can't these Raps who are a way above our level unable to do that one little thing. Watch the next time and you will see that the perimeter defenders always cheat back to the center no matter how many times they get beat. It just boggles the mind.

I heard Sam on Raptors Today, do not be surprised if TJ starts tonite.

Didn't see the last halfs of last two games so don't wanna
add my two cents on MeJ Ford.

Tinman,if what you are saying is true,you can bett your ass,J.C. will be in L.A. next season,with his good buddy.Ya B.C. can match the $$$$$ but at that point it will be about playing time and a big ring....lets not kidd ourselves ,this is business.

Tinman: Where did you hear this and what did he say?

There is the old cliche that"love is blind". I watched the interview last nite with Sam Mitch after the Golden State loss where he excused Ford's 4th quarter play by saying that he passes to his team mates but they just pass it back. In other words, it was everybody else at fault for the lack of ball movement. Then in Parkers interview he says"If we win, it doesn't matter to me," he said. "When the ball moves around, I think it is better. You get better looks, people feel more involved, and from a defensive standpoint, it keeps you on your heels instead of being able to attack because you know what is coming. He wasn't aware that his coach thought he was screwing up.Sam's blind love for Ford hopefully will get him fired

axl - when Grange and Smith (who rarely ever rip individual players) write that TJ was being selfish and in the process extinguished the fire that Parker and even Andrea had going on...it really should tell you something.

Re: a previous post...as for TJ being our second best shooter...umm...I would rather have Parker or Calderon taking 10 shots in a row over TJ any day...or Kapono...but then again, TJ never passes to him.

I remember last year when TJ was referring to Smitch as a paternal figure in his life. Smitch later reciprocated that sentiment. If Smitch starts TJ tonight, it is a case of nepotism at it's finest...Whoa is us!

During his interview on Raps Today, discussing on last two games he was putting the blame on the slow starts in the first quarter, saying we need to shake things up.
He didn't spell it out but that was impression I got. We'll see tonite.

pretty sure if tj starts tonight im not even gonna watch the game...i wouldnt be able to see calderon come off the bench after all hes done to earn that spot.

Now, the only way I will be able to handle tj starting tonight and and the next and etc....is if its to build his trade value...thats the only way I will accept it...if BC told mitchell that Ford needs to be more valuable for the summer, so even if he brings the team down this year (its not like we were gonna win a championship anyways) as long as he becomes valuable in the offseason....that is the only way I can accept this....and i hope to god that its true

I'll be happy if TJ starts and the team wins.

I'll be happy if Jose starts and the team wins.

I'll be happy if D-Mart starts and the team wins.

people talk about how yeah you can rip on TJ as much as you want but the real problem is their defense. While I agree that the raptors defense is a problem, I also wonder how much of an effect watching TJ force jump shots for the entire 4th quarter has on defensive intensity when closing out games.

As far as the players just passing it back when he passes to them, it's because he's not creating for them. You can say they're not taking what he's giving, but he's not exactly giving them anything. The last two games, TJ's 4th quarter passes have just been dump offs on the perimeter, he hasn't been using his quickness and penetration to make shots for others.

I can't believe that Smitch actually made those comments. TJ dumps it off to Player A while cycling around him, and before Player A can look for anyone else, TJ runs behind him and asks for the ball back...ugggh!

I don’t know what to make of Mitchell’s comments. He loves to yank the chain of the media as he has no respect for their knowledge of the game. Players generally reveal little of what is going on in the clubhouse so outsiders are left to speculate. Based on that, I put little stock on what any of them say and judge them on their actions. It’s the only way to go.

TJ's passes in the 4th quarter were for the most part bail outs when he lost his dribble or got trapped. He was getting the ball to players who were way out of position or confortable shooting range, their only option was to hand the ball back to TJ.

the thing about tj is that when he DOES pass the ball, its way too late in the shot clock to get anything done. It seems like he dribbles for 20 of the 24 seconds, either jacks it up or gives it to a teammate for a forced shot. that is no way to run an offense.