Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game - On the brink...

Despite how it seems that the season may be over, I have to agree ..... I'd sure like one more game at the ACC.

As for Calderon being cold, I have to wonder if the limited playing time has taken him out of his game. Would we see a different Jose, if his court time was closer to 35 minutes (or more)

One question though. Why wasn't Andrea on the floor more?

I actually thought the turning point was when Moon slipped on something and strained his groin. Lewis abused Kapono in the last 5 minutes (RL was off in the 1st half when Moon was guarding him), and given that Kapono wasn't giving them much at that point, JM may have made a big difference. Also, not to beat a dead point guard, but Ford didn't make good decisions (again) at the end. Not that Calderon was a better option by that point. Maybe JC's neck is still bothering him.

I think this one is over, but this series has given me hope for next season. (1) Bosh looks like the real deal in the playoffs; (2) Bargs has sucked, no question, but I like his defense sometimes on Superman, and I think is mental toughness is up - he did get t'ed up after all. Good sign and his shooting has to come back (right?).

What needs to be addressed in the off-season? I think the 4 & 5 are ok (give AB one more year). The 3 w/Moon and Kapono are a good pairing, especially if Moon works on his offense in the summer. It is the back-court that needs work - TJ must be gone (right?), but his change of pace after Calderon is good, so a quick young point guard to back up would be nice. The biggest problem is the 2 - we need our other All-Star here. I wish BC the best of luck b/c otherwise we are going nowhere.

Glad to be home but was really disapponted with this game. It looks like we're done like dinner. Big changes, hopefully, will be coming in both roster and head coach this summer. I'd really like to see one more game at home though.

I agree with nyfan. To me, the turning point was when moon pulled his groin. Even though his shooting was off, he was defending well on the perimeter. Once he went down, Turkoglu lit up Delfino, and Parker couldn't handle Lewis.

God I wish Garbajosa was healthy!

Ironically, after a season of Mitchell using this as his primary excuse, I thought today's game came down to us just not making enough "shats".

What a difference it would be had Bosh's shot gone down in game 2.

Lets see the mental make up of this team. Bosh played GREAT, AP played good but nobody else showed up....

Lets see how they fight back.
Lets see how they start the 1st quarter.
Lets see if we can steal one on the road.
Lets see if our PG's can show why they were our main advantage in this series

The thing is the one game where he was held in check the team won. How do you break this down? He puts up big numbers and the team loses. He is quieted and the team wins. That’s a big issue and one I don’t have answers for at this point in time.

Probably let Bosh get His shut down the rest! Seems like a good plan to Me..Is that the lack of 3 point production?

Good game really but a tough loss for Raptor fans. This team as constructed is just not ready to compete - a work in progress. Nice to be in the playoffs - check the boards of some lottery teams if you need a reminder of the bad old days.
In the 4th Q the raps looked to be trying to tun a Princeton type offence or at least the beginnings of one with a weave up top. Wonder if that's why Jose was in instead of Gaham?
Anyone else notice this?

I'm hoping the Raptors take the attitude that if they are going down, go down swinging. Hard fouls, floor burns, the works.

As long as Boston and Detroit hold down the top seeds in the East, the chances of Orlando and Toronto crossing paths in either 3-6 or 4-5 matchups are quite likely.

Combine that with the Magic's lack of future roster flexibility and a good showing in the remaining game(s) bodes well for the future.

I'd like to see Moon improve his ballhandling, but I doubt he can improve it enough to be a consistent threat to drive. Where I see him improving is his body strength, to offer better resistance against the big SFs of the league.

Another candidate for under the radar improvement would be the Hump. I can't see the Raptors commiting to 3 years 9 mill without some prospect of future improvement on his part. How about an improved mid-range jumpshot...and a seat beside Bargs at the Vegas big man camp.

I think our pgs are inconsistent cuz of the rotation. I mean the bringing tj in with 3 mins in the first half worked in game 3. But how is somebody supposed to play well like that? He (Smitch) plays both pgs in like 9 minute bursts hoping that both of them show up. It's stupid. This coaching staff is frustrating, but im not sure there are any better options out there. Unless BC takes a chance on a first timer

have to agree nyfan et al, the turning point was when moon had to sit instead of playing his best defense of the season. Plus moon's replacement, Delfino, besides bad defense, shot a really bad three (when bosh had jameer nelson guarding him) when the score was tied and delfino's airball a minute later. raps never led after that first chuck.

Like people mentioned the raps really missed garbo and you have wonder if that ship has sailed and a bigger shake will now be required by the impatient media and fans.

I have had to get off the fence a say tj must go, if for nothing else but to get some elite defensive help. I truly think bosh, bargs and calderon are offensively going to get it done in years to come.

Despite some criticism of TJ's decision-making, I think he played pretty well. The guy's got skills, and his decision making will only get better in future, I believe. The one thing I really want him to improve, and it's a problem I've noticed for the past two seasons, is his inability to complete layups. I know he's small, and may be worrying about the shotblock (especially with Howard patrolling the paint), but it hasn't been just against Orlando. Tony Parker's not so big, similar game to TJ, and I don't see him missing those layups (though, admittedly, I only catch him in the playoffs generally). Am I the only one seeing this as a major drawback to his game?

Basically the "improve from within" line we were fed last year was BS. Basically nobody improved their game noticeably save maybe Calderon/Rasho.

But I think this has sunk in with the Raps braintrust, and even Mitchell would probably improve his off season prep if given the chance to continue coaching...I think the Raps were exposed this year as not being prepared overall. Could the lack of proper workout routines have contributed to our injury woes? You bet your ass.

Kevin O'Neil sucked at Offensive coaching, but his players were conditioned.

What about a nutritionist? Several times this year (and other years) we heard of the team eating junk food. I don't even eat that shit anymore, and I'm not a highly tuned athletic machine (anymore).
Does anybody else think that would make a huge difference? If I knew my player eats Snicker bars before games, I'd freak. Teach these guys how to make getting better easier.

In fairness, it sounds like certain players are being put on programs this off-season...but like I said I've heard that before.

A few things that contribute to the 3-1 state of the series.

1) The Magic have better players. If you call Bosh and Howard a saw off, then we are weaker. Hedo and Lewis are a pretty big help, with Hedo being one consistently. Bargnani was supposed to be that guy for us. Nelson may not match up to Ford/Calderon in our minds, but he's bested them on the court so far.

2) Dwight Howard gets to foul more often. How come Shaq gets called more often and Howard less? He gets to fight pretty roughly for position without a call while Bargs gets called for next to nothing or being on the receiving end. The last play of the 3rd quarter was obviously a foul on Bosh. If you can't go at him and get a few fair fouls called, he'll block 8 shots a game. Don't forget that game 2 is probably a win if his foul on Bosh with seconds left is called. Until refs stop trying to manage games and just call a foul when it happens, the media stars will continue to have an unfair advantage. Wait until, if, Howard is taking elbows from Garnett and getting called for fouls on them to see how the refs call by jersey numbers.

Not too many people posting on the board today. I'm wondering if anyone else is feeling the same way that I am.

I'm strangely relaxed when thinking about the Raptors right now. We are all aware of the myriad of problems with the Rap's season, not the least of which are a pouting "starting" PG, an (albeit talented) career D-leaguer/globetrotter starting most games at forward... and then not in the playoffs, an inadequately used 3-point champion, and a promising #1 pick who didn't come through as much as we'd like.

This is it, though. No excuses, no experiments. Back to the wall. Problems aside, we KNOW that we can beat this team, and its time to do just that. Lets not think about the excitement of the offseason for at least another 48 minutes. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Go Raptors.

Some rags and blogs are already talking about Mike Dantoni as a possible replacement for Sam....he is still our obnoxious coach.
last time I checked.The Suns are down 3/1 in their series.
I'm not stupid,I understand its the Spurs,but having said that....no rings !!!! with Nash,Stoud,Marion,Bell,...
I guess the "East" would make Dantoni's life a little easier but......

@d279

There are only 3 active NBA coaches who have rings....and one of those is Pat Riley. Asking for championship experience from your coach is a good way to limit your choices. I, for one, would welcome D'Antoni...get me 50-55 wins, and the Raps to the second round or Conference Finals, THEN let's worry about championships.

(For Reference)Active or Available Coaches with Championships:

Phil Jackson (not going anywhere)
Pat Riley (umm, no thanks)
Greg Poppovich (not moving)
Larry Brown (HELL NO!)
Rudy Tomjanovich (Maybe..but his last gig didn't last very long)

One other thing:

This series has really shown me the depth of Hedo's skill. I had heard all season how much he had improved, but I didn't really get too many chances to see him play. He really seems to understand his abilities, and finds a way to score when it is needed. I fear him much more than Lewis or even D.Ho on the offensive end because he is a much more complete offensive player that Dwight, and Rashard seems to fall asleep at times.
Speaking of Rashard....we will probably lose this series, but how would you like to be Orlando, really? Sure they have Dwight (which is HUGE), but they have max money tied up in their third best player for the NEXT SIX YEARS!!!!
That is going to bite them in the ass, mark my words.

Stylin' - good point on hedo's improvement. Makes me have some hope with bargnani. Hedo was sooo inconsistent and unclutch.

I agree completely, even when the Rashard Lewis signing was made and Hedo wasn't an allstar I thought he was overpaid. Now that Hedo has emerged it makes Rashard's salary seem even more ridiculous.

The Magic still lack a powerforward, shooting guard, depth and some would say a point guard. There money could have been spent much wiser elsewhere.

As much as I want to believe the raps can comeback its going to be next to impossible. It would be difficult to beat a team with a similar record to them three times in a row, its not going to happen against Orlando.

That being said it should make for an interesting season.

I believe I heard Roko will be coming to play for the raptors from the Toronto Sun.

Who will the raptors draft?

What will happen to TJ? (Move him dammit)

Which free agents will the raptors target?

What trades will we make with our variety of expiring contracts?

What will happen to Sam Mitchell?

Although we discuss our need for another 2/3 player another major problem is about to occur. AP will be turning 34 years old next year.....who is going to replace him? Do we keep Kopono or Moon in the starting lineup and target a 2 guard? Do we ride AP out and target a small forward?

I'm confident Andrea Igudala will get the money he is asking for based on Philly's success. However one guy to keep an eye on is Luol Deng. He apparently turned down more than 50 million over 5 years.....his value cannot have gone up so if he doesn't get the money he wants from the bulls the raptors could agree to give him what he wants and do a sign and trade. Or he could take a 1 year offer and become an unrestricted free agent. Maggette is another guy who will likely opt out that would look good in a raptors uniform.

But I would really like to somehow swing a deal to get TJ out of here and bring in Luol Deng and Chris Duhon.

Formula for Raptors to win:
The bench has to have 40/50 points and Bosh dominate Howard in points, with TJ slowing Nelson. Turkoglu and Lewis have outplayed their competition throuhout.
Magic SF/PF/C 246pts-Raptors SF/PF/C 172pts thru 4 games.
Magic bench 75pts-raptors bench 146pts.

Does anyone really think MLSE is going to spend $13mil to fire Mitchell and hire a new coach? Fat chance!
The money would be much better spent in getting Mitchell a SF, SG, Big who can rebound, and who can play with some consistency.

When your back-up point (JC) guard is scoring more than your starting SG and SF how can you win in the Playoffs?
Answer, you need a miracle.