3 In the Key – Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Heat

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT in 3 in the Key

The future of Miami??

A game against the league’s worst team couldn’t have come at a better time could it?

With weekend matches against the Cavs and Nuggets looming, and after dropping five straight on the road, Toronto could use a solid win.

The Miami Heat are currently sitting with a 12 and 54 record and have shelved Dwyane Wade for the season kicking off "Tank-fest ’08." Does it guarantee Miami a shot at Mr. Beasley? Well no, but considering the dearth of talent on this club at present, none of the other top draft options would look too bad either in Miami black and red.

For Toronto, this game simply needs to end in a Raptors’ W.

Between horrific defensive performances, sub-par play from key players and the never-ending hurricane of drama that is TJ Ford, Toronto needs to start coming together again to get ready for the playoffs.

We touched on this yesterday but the Raptors suddenly find themselves fighting for their playoff lives.

Washington is getting healthier by the day (Gilbert Arenas recently had an MRI and his left knee is coming along), Philadelphia has won 15 of their last 19 games, and you still can’t even count out teams like Atlanta and Chicago, both of whom Toronto still has to play once more.

And really, if Toronto can’t beat Miami even without a 100 per cent healthy Chris Bosh or Andrea Bargnani (Bosh has posted on his site that he’ll be playing tonight but no word on Bargs as of yet), then getting out of the first round of the playoffs will be the least of this team’s worries.

There was a lot of doom and gloom talk after the latest road trip and some of it was quite understandable. Bosh or no Bosh, the team’s defence was lackadaisical at best and players like Bargnani and Calderon did little to step up their respective games.

However there were some positive signs that this team can hopefully build on.

Let’s take a look at 3.

1) Rasho Nesterovic’s steady contribution: Without Bosh, Rasho slid back into the starting line-up on the recent road trip and didn’t appear to miss a beat. He did a great job on the glass and aside from a penchant for missing gimme’s at times near the rim, did an excellent job offensively as well. I still think he should be this team’s starter at the 5, especially since Bargs’ game hasn’t benefited much from the starting nod, but perhaps we’ll see some changes come playoff time. Nesterovic just seems better suited for playing alongside Bosh and is a much more natural center. Without Chris though, Rasho got some much needed crunch time minutes, ones that should serve him well come late April.

2) Jason Kapono’s re-emergence: I’m not sure why the light suddenly went on again, but Kap-One looks much more like the player Toronto thought they signed as a free-agent last summer. He’s moving much better without the ball, finishing his long and mid-range shots and even doing some creating off the dribble. His effectiveness should only increase with the return of CB4, something I recently discussed with Steve Weinman of Celticsblog, who had inquired about Kapono’s lack of production, especially from 3-point range. I explained that while we at the HQ thought Mitchell should be doing more to get Kapono involved offensively, the move of Jose into the starting line-up, the lack of CB4 and Jason’s porous defense had all been factors in Kap-One’s underachievement.

3) TJ Ford’s breakdown: While Ford’s outburst might have come at the worst time for Toronto during their match against Utah, in retrospect, maybe it came at the right time during the season. In many ways, Ford has nowhere to go but up now in terms of his play and as the saying goes, "better now than later." Imagine if this little psychotic break came during the first round of the playoffs?

In fact the whole Ford incident got me wondering if as Raptors’ fans, we should have seen this coming or if this was an isolated incident born out of frustration. I asked Brett from The Bratwurst to give us his take having watched Ford during his first few seasons in the league:

The Bratwurst: TJ Ford is a pretty perplexing guy to figure out. I always felt he got a bit of a bad rap in Milwaukee, and was stuck in a system that wasn't so good for him while being a little slow to blossom because of the injuries.

-- By dominating from the beginning of his career, Chris Paul has made life tough on lots of point guards. Paul is the only one since Magic Johnson to become a superstar from day one, and that has totally obscured the fact that it normally takes point guards anywhere from 1-5 years to reach their peak.

Since Ford missed 1 1/2 years with the Bucks, he's only played 3 1/2 seasons now. He still could have a real leap left in his game, but that's the problem with point guards -- sometimes you have to wait until they are 27 years old to find out.

-- Last year I felt that the improvements on Ford's statistics were more a factor of him being on a better team with more athletic team-mates rather than him playing much better. I don't mean that as a knock on Ford -- I mean that he was better in Milwaukee than he got credit for. Last year the only part of his game that really improved statistically was his assist rate, and I think a big part of that was having quicker team-mates instead of him doing anything differently. This year however, Ford has definitely been better overall. If you go by per-minute numbers (and he hadn't been hurt) he should have been an all-star this year.

-- I always felt Ford got a bad rap defensively because at his size he can't help but get made to look bad a couple of times a game. But he tries hard, can stay in front of some tough covers, and gets his share of steals.

-- It's always fun to read message boards about Ford. Someone will say that he shoots too much and goes 1-on-5 and the next person will say he doesn't shoot enough. He's a tough player to figure out, and most posters don't really know what they are talking about but instead look at a couple of bad plays and just second-guess him. So he doesn't have the floor vision of Jason Kidd. So what? Ford is a high-pressure player whose helter-skelter style will sometimes look spectacular and sometimes look awful. That's who he is. Even the biggest Ford basher among the Raptor fans has to admit that sometimes he can be unstoppable. Sometimes Ford is the best player on the floor. Not many players can do that, and only the LeBron's and MJ's can do it every night.

-- I think that the Raptors fan-base should save themselves the energy of debating Calderon vs. Ford because I think the Raps are keeping both of them unless Calderon gets a ridiculous offer from someone (like Seattle). With Ford's neck problem cropping up again this year, I don't think many GM's would offer anything of value for him even if he is playing like an all-star this year. Not only is there the risk of something horrible happening to him, but what if he tries to change his game to lessen his injury risk and can't do it effectively? Even though TJ is a far superior player to Mo Williams right now would the Bucks swap the two? Because of the injury risk, absolutely not.

Here's the bottom line:

The Bucks with TJ: two years, two playoff appearances

The Bucks with TJ injured: one year, no playoffs

The Bucks post-TJ: two years, no playoffs

The Raptors with TJ: two years, two playoffs

It would be nice if instead of complaining about TJ's streakiness, Raptors fans would realize what they have: an embarrassment of riches at the point guard spot.

TJ Ford - Whether in Milwaukee or Toronto the paradox continues...

Sort of puts things in perspective doesn’t it?

I was watching highlights of old games last night while waiting for the NIT to begin and realized that it was only a few years ago that Raptors’ fans were dealing with Milt Palacio and the revolving door of back-up point guards like Omar Cook and Rick Brunson.

(Shudder.)

And really, as much as TJ has been a problem lately, the team needs him playing at the top of his game to reach their potential so there’s not much we as fans can do but hope he turns the corner starting tonight.

Also from Brett’s thoughts on TJ Ford, I found it interesting that he touched on how most point guards take longer in the league to take that next step. We saw it with Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups and various other members of the NBA elite at the 1. Not everyone comes into the league a Chris Paul, Jason Kidd or even a Deron Williams.

And with that I turn back to Rafer Alston.

Houston’s incredible win streak was snapped last night by the Celtics in a defensive struggle but it’s been interesting to see Alston’s development this season. I’m not sure if it is the result of a new coach, new system, his off-season wake-up calls, or just reaching a certain level of maturity at last but Alston has been a key reason for Houston’s success this year.

I’m guessing it’s a combination of factors including playing on a team that has found the right mix of talent and chemistry. It’s easy to look at the Rockets, especially minus Yao Ming, and say that they aren’t favoured in the West the way teams like the Mavericks, Spurs, Suns or Lakers are but a lot of that has to do with star power. Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and the aforementioned Alston don’t raise too many eyebrows compared to their other Western Conference brethren (and ironically, T-Mac may now be underrated compared to the Kobes and Carmellos of the wild west) but this squad is getting it done and Rafer is helping to lead the way.

So can TJ do the same?

There’s no question he can, but first Ford needs to let go of his ego a bit and accept that he’s coming off the bench for the rest of the season. He also needs to realize that his actions on the court, from what appears to be a "sour grapes" demeanour to his tendencies to play too much one-on-five, reverberate on to his team-mates. Michael Grange touched on this as well this morning via Leo Rautins on his new Team Canada blog.

However once TJ realizes he needs to set aside these problems, or channel his ego and competitive juices in a different manner (like harassing J-Will and Marcus Banks tonight) then hopefully he can become that strategic assassin much like Houston’s Alston has become.

Can TJ and the Raptors channel some team play from Rafer and the Rockets?

In fact this entire Raptors’ team should look to the Rockets for inspiration. Houston individually isn’t the most talented in the West, but one that plays as a unit better than most and does a great job executing both on offense and defense.

The Raptors need to do this tonight so let’s get to our three keys:

1) Get off to a good start. Not much surprise that this is the first key. The Raps did this against the Jazz but more as a result of Utah’s horrid shooting display than Toronto’s spectacular defense. Toronto has the chance tonight though to really put the clamps down on Miami, a team with a terrific six and 26 record on the road, and start rebuilding some playoff momentum. Bosh’s return at the ACC should fuel a Toronto team that’s been looking for an emotional boost and I expect the Dinos to come out gangbusters.

2) Team play. We’ve witnessed a lot of "these few guys played well" over the last five games but have not seen a complete team effort probably since Toronto last played Miami. Here’s hoping for a repeat tonight as players like Delfino and Bargnani (assuming he plays) need to get back to playing consistent basketball to really give this club a lift. There’s no better time than tonight for this to happen as Miami is currently relying on fringe D-Leaguers like Bobby Jones, Chris Quinn, Joel Anthony, Earl Barron and Daequan Cook for most of their minutes. If the Raps can’t take advantage of these types, I’ll be left wondering who the real lottery bound team is.

3) Sam Mitchell. As much as TJ Ford needs to check his ego at the door a bit for the rest of the season, Mitchell needs to do a much better job of using Ford in strategic fashions. That means a quick hook if the one-on-five TJ starts to emerge, and a complete benching if he’s unable to control his emotions. Mitchell also needs to make sure Bosh doesn’t have to play too many minutes tonight and ensures that CB4 works himself back in slowly.

Also, I’m curious to see who gets the starting nod tonight at the 5. In my opinion Rasho deserves the spot with his recent consistent play, but who knows what Sam decides to do. Most likely, Andrea, if his nose is ok, will be back to tip things off but if he continues to struggle, and the Raptors need to get wins, I’m not sure Mitchell won’t shake things up a bit.

A final note: For all who haven’t joined yet but wish to do so, keep in mind that you have only about 24 hours to join the HQ’s NCAA pool!

Head to Yahoo.com’s fantasy tournament pick’em site,

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1

click on "join a group," enter the group ID 85910 with a password of beasley and make your picks. We’ll be discussing some of the "players to watch" in the tourney from a Raptors’ standpoint in our recap tomorrow morning.

FRANCHISE

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Comments

I've always thought Coaching changes in the NBA is the most overated thing a team can do. I haven't had time to do the research to see how teams perform after a change, but my suspicions are not much of a change. NBA is about talent, I think more than any other sport. There's only so many schemes... as stated before, if you can figure out more than 4 ways to defend the pick and roll, well you shouldn't just be blogging about it.

Look at Doc Rivers, on the cusp of getting fired last year, and the turn around this year. Did he become a genius over night? And then Riley -- rated as one of the top 10 coaches in history in anything I've ever read. Did he just forget everything all of a sudden?

Let's look at recent changes:

Bucks: Krystkowiak for Stotts.

Bobcats: Sam Vincent for Bernie Bickerstaff

Memphis: Marc Iavaroni for Tony Barone Sr. for Mike Fratello

Kings: Reggie Theus for Eric Musselman

Magic: Billy Donovan for Brian Hill

Pacers: Jim O'Brien for Rick Carlisle

Rockets: Rick Adelman for Jeff Van Gundy

Sonics: P.J. Carlesimo for Bob Hill

Timberwolves: Randy Wittman for Dwane Casey

Don't have time to do a complete analysis, hopefully someone else can, but does anyone really think Ivaroni would have done a better job than Smitch????

by ustation on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Great post Franchise! Enough said.

by Branden on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

In-Depth Post..like it.

An interesting link..a spy has spotted BC
http://www.ballineurope.com/us-basketball/nba/toronto-raptors-on-european-shopping-tour/

by Rahulan on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Ok, ustation, I like the jist of your point, but think you need to analyze some of those coaching changes individually, and at least from my perspective, you will see some positive can come from such a move (IF THEY HIRE A BETTER COACH). Ok, let's tackle the obvious first. When the Rockets were knocked out last year and Van Gundy was still in charge, everybody thought they should just blow it up in Houston (either T-Mac or Yao had to go). Now their team play, as commented on by Franchise, is the envy of the West. You could argue this has to do with a glue guy like Scola, but the only other real change (other than trading for Bobby Jackson) is Adelman. So I would argue a coaching change there has a lot to do with their progress. Ok, some less obvious ones. I am not to familiar with his resume, but I have read multiple sources stating Sam Vincent is among the worst coaches in the NBA, so that fails one of the qualifications of hiring a better coach. Similar situation in Milwaukee, many experts seem to agree that Krystkowiak is doing a bang up job of not using his talent effectively. Iavaroni Wittman and Carlesimo had the disadvantage of losing their best players from the previous coaching regime (Gasol, Garnett & Allen). I think most people would also agree that Theus and Donovan have their teams over-achieving. So I looked at these recent changes and feel no more convinced that we should stick with the status quo.

by Branden on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Great analysis, Franchise. I need a break from TJ so I'm gonna take a deep breath and refrain from making any TJ related comments for at least 3 hours.

And nice post, Ustation. Firing the coach is the biggest knee-jerk fan reaction in all of sports. When a team goes on a losing streak, it's "Fire the coach!" or "I never have liked the coach even from the very beginning ...". When a team goes on a winning streak its "cudos to the great play of the players!". So it goes.

I'm frustrated with certain parts of Sam's coaching, but I'm also impressed with the cohesiveness of this team, even though losing streaks. There could be a lot of finger pointing going on right now, but, for the most part, its not happening. I credit Sam for that.

Of course, if they lose tonight, everyone could quite well go ape shit and then I'll throw these comments out the window. So it goes.

by SonicSuper on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Great blog. Glad to see some perspective on tj ford. We really do need him.

I have a crazy idea to solve the rasho situation franchise mentioned in the short term.

-Have bosh come off the bench against miami. Why? a) bosh presumably needs to come back slowly. b) if bosh handles it correctly, it could be the ego check tj needs. c) tj gets to play with bosh. d) if it fails, it's only miami and there's no way they lose the game.

After that game, do what works. At some point bargs will have to either start at sf or come of the bench though. He's had his chance to work on his game, now it's win at all costs time.

Also had this strange idea that detroit might be a good first round matchup. After all they have a history of crumbling in the playoffs and got beat by cleveland last year. Besides that, even in a lost series, it might give the raps some invaluable experience in playing them for years to come.

by axl on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Axl - love that idea. Best case scenario tonight would be an early blowout so TJ and CB4 get lots of garbage time together too and Bargs could be out there firing away. Toronto really needs all of its firepower back on the same page for the playoffs.

Can't believe there are only 15 games left in the season. Seems like yesterday that we were contemplating Toronto's off-season additions and how they'd fare this year...

As for the coaching stuff - totally agree. Under most situations, the players are the ones that need to be moved and firing the coach is knee-jerk at best.

However there are obviously exceptions, especially in cases when it's blatantly obvious that the players have tuned the coach out (ahem...Isiah Thomas.) But yes, the guys you listed ustation have mostly had success or failure this year due to the talent they have to work with. The notable exception is Houston and I think in that case it was just time for JVG to go. You can only be a hard-ass defensive minded coach for so long in the NBA (as Scott Skiles found out) before the players start to lose interest. And of the taskmaster coaches that have been in it for the long haul (Popovich and Sloan for instance), I think their respective GM's do a great job in obtaining only players who can deal with that style of leadership.

In terms of Sam Mitchell, in my opinion, the jury will be out on him until we see how things go in the playoffs and how he deals with the TJ Ford situation...

by Franchise on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Detroit OWNS the raptors. I want no part of them. Rather play the Celtics frankly. At least against them we have 1 mismatch in our favor (PG).

by LAs Only Raptor Fan on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

A little more food for thought. What do 8 of the 12 worst teams record wise this year have in common? They fired their coach last year (Except for Heats, Knicks, and Clips) and this year including Chicago.

Now b4 anyone rips me for defending Sam. I'm not. I could care less really who it is, but I think establishing stability is more important. I don't think free agents tend to want to go to teams that are unstable. I think that's more important than the Xs and Os.

Let's look at the records of last year and currently of teams that fired their coach:

Bobcats: Now: 24-43 Last Year: 33-49
Bucks: 23-44, 28-54
Griz: 16-50, 22-60
Seattle: 16-51, 31-51
Kings: 31-36, 33-49
Wolves: 16-50, 32-50
Indy: 26-41, 35-47
Rockets: 46-21, 52-30
Magic: 45-24, 40-42

Now are the Wolves/Sonics/Magic record explained by coaching moves or player moves?

I'm sure you could have had me coaching the Bulls in the 90s and they still would have won. ("hey you Scottie, give it to MJ! Hey Rodman, get the rebound! Hey you Canadian guy (Bill Worthington) get out of the way!)

by ustation on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

ooooppps and lastly...

Firing coaches is like a Heroine addiction. It feels good for a little bit, but it's only a matter of time before you have to do it again for another high.

by ustation on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Good points again ustation, maybe all us Sam-bashers are just chasing the dragon. Like you said about your position not being one of strict Sam defence, mine is I want this thing to get going in the right direction again, whether it is with Sam at the reigns or not. If he can sort TJ out, fall out of love with Moon, get Kapono some more looks, find a way to keep Parker aggressive every night, bring in a big man specialist for Bargs (apparantly only TJ deserves a coach devoted to him at the moment), draw up a decent play or two for late game in-bounds situations, and just sort of generally sort out his rotations (I'm sure I have missed other things that piss me off), then let's stick with him. If not, well I think my point is clear.

by ustation on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Oh by the way, loved the Bulls analogy, but I would have said: "Hey Australian guy...". Longley was the man.

by Branden on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Exactly Franchise, this is a much more level headed article than last week's assaults....you hit on a couple of points that I'd been stressing lately, concerning Alston as well as PG development in general.

Keep up the great site.

Yes coaching changes can be overrated, but think about that for a moment. If you could improve at that position wouldn't you?

Then again....why do players get coaching jobs? Primarily probably comraderie with players that would be impossible with the best tactitian who has never played. Well, another endless debate circles around I guess.

But looks like Mitchell might be coaching for his Raptor life again this spring.

by DayOner on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Braden, ok let's examine your beefs with Sam then (In no way is this meant to be personal, I just enjoy a clean debate as I wait to enter my next meeting).

1)Control TJ. If coaches could control players that easily, we wouldn't have the Ron Artests, Tinsleys, Vince Carters, of the world. The closest person I can think of with that skill is maybe The Zen Master and Chuck Daly.

2)Moon.. Your other option?? Joey?

3)I think most teams are aware of the 2 time winning 3-point winner. Unfortunately he's not Reggie Miller who has the speed or ability to create his own shot.

4) Late game inbound situations. Especially with this year's team, how many close late game situations have there been. They've either blown or been blown out for the most part. Lets see: Nov4 vs Boston 98-95 (L), Nov9 Phi 105-103 (W),Jan6 Cle 90-93 (L), Jan23 Bos 114-112 (W).

And lastely (I swear this will be), do you want an environment where the Coach gets fired when players play crap? Or do you want the players to be fired?

I much prefer an environment where the boss gets to be the boss unless there's overwhelming evidence of his incompetency.

Ciao for now.

by Ustation on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I'm intrigued about Robert Archibald's insightful comment at the end of the previous artcile discussion, he mentioned Moon stats (8.5 pts and 6 rebs in 30min as a starter) and he was if wondering Joey Graham wouldn't give us that same stat line or better if given that kind of confidence...

Even though I've been very critical of Graham, I think he makes a valid point, specially since Moon's game has been quite declining as of late.... On the other hand, I can't help but think that in this team (with an offense featuring Bosh, AP on a roll, Bargs and Calderon) any starting SF won't get many touches anyway, so it may be hard to upper that ppg average...

Anyway I Robert's idea merits more discussion, what do you guys think?

by Sergi P on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

OK...let me get this straight...the Raps lose all five road games of their recent trip, showing very little heart or grit and then come home to play the Heat and they are...

EIGHTEEN POINT FAVOURITES!?!

EIGHTEEN...

For once in my life, I am speechless...

by The HQ Associate on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Ustation - you can't be serious with 90s chicago bulls comments. Phil Jackson should be given a freakin' honorary masters in psychology for integrating Dennis Rodman into that (or any) team and still go on to kick ass. The guy was locker room poison, a pariah in terms of reffing and not a team player. He refused to even shootaround with the team before games. He missed practices. If there ever was an example of where coaching was *critical* to a winning dynamic that was it.

My theory on coaching is that they can give a game away on a given night and occaisionally steal one with a strategy that the players might not see, but they really should be judged on seasons and careers where you can see whether or not players and teams improved.

by axl on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I actually like how this season has unfolded so far. This team is much better than its record shows and barring an injury to Bosh I have a good feeling about the remaining games and the post-season.
Mitchell will get a chance to coach next year with a different and improved roster. He made some good moves (Bargs starting when he lost his confidence, Calderon starting when TJ came back from whatever it was) and some bad moves (blatant favoritisms with TJ and Moon which created TJ mess and not starting the obvious better player in Delfino).
The sign of an inexperienced team is inconsistency and so far we had plenty of it. However a few things clarified for the management and I'm sure they'll move forward in a positive way (we have arguably the best scouting team in NBA, good relations with players/agents, the label of an up-coming and exciting team). It was a season of trial for a young team which will make us much stronger in the future.

by Daniel on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry, didn't notice until now that I called myself ustation on my last post. Guess I am really getting into this debate, or my brain is just a bit numb. Mindless data entry and paper writing will do that to you. Anyways, small rebuttal. If we picked up Joey's option at the start of the year, why not give him another shot? He fairly reliably takes it to the rim, seems to have made some progress with his shot (from the limited floor time we have as evidence), and may display the hunger that we saw out of Moon earlier this year if he was given another shot. Why not pit these two against each other, make them desperate for each other's minutes to maximize output from the two of them? Just an idea on that front. The difference between the TJ situation and the Artest's or Carter's is that TJ was not always a distraction. Artest has always caused trouble and Vince has always been a whiner. TJ was a team player until he became the back-up. I think this change in his attitude is being fostered by the way Sam is keeping him out there when he turns into MeJ. I don't think that other teams figuring out Kapono can shoot explains him going a freakin' month without hitting a 3-pointer. Seriously, you can't believe that. The guy was best in the league last year. How did Dell Curry or Steve Kerr stay in the NBA so long? Everybody knew both of them could only do one thing. Anyways, hope meetings go well, and look forward to hearing back.

by Branden on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Great article, I agree that we should relax and be a little patient with TJ. I think we have been patient with Sam. If this season ends on a continued down note, I doubt firing Sam (after 3 or 4 years) will feel unstable. Especially if BC can find the right replacement, which I trust he can. BC found D'Antoni! If Sam can't improve this season, give the legomaster a chance to hire his guy!

Thanks for bringing it up again Sergi. Coming into the pre-season, SF was Joey's spot. I liked having Moon there to push him, and it has been a good story. But with the season's end just 15 games away, I realize JG hasn't had a chance to break into the lineup all season. That would be fine if Moon was Marion - but he ain't. I totally agree with Branden that these two should have been pitted against each other all season!

by Robert Archibald on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Da Dana NA, Bosh to the rescue. If we somehow look good goin to the playoffs, he gets my mvp vote, not that it counts. Here's hoping for 10-5 going forward, or no less than 8-7

by Sho on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

One day off (during which TJ incidentally doesn't blow a game by going berzerk in the fourth quarter) and all of a sudden its hands-across-America for Mr. Ford. I too have cooled off a bit, mostly due to lower expectations in general from Ford. If he can't play a solid 15 minutes, I say play the funky homosapien at point.

As for coaching itself (or firing a coach) having little impact on a team, I'm not swayed by the argument, or the statistics. Whatever miniscule impact Sam Mitchell could be having on the team, he is screwing up. Some of his decisions appear so counter-intuitive that its baffling, and I don't think that we (or BC) should tolerate that (or forget his mistakes when the Raps win a few).

Did I mention that I'm applying to be head coach? Whats the difference anyway?

by Observer on Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions