3 in the Key – Toronto Raptors Playoff Preview vs. Magic (Game 5)

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT in 3 in the Key

D'Antoni and BC reunited in Toronto? Let's wait till the playoffs are over first shall we?

Losing game four was tough.

Even last night, over 24 hours removed from the loss, I was still contemplating what went wrong.

Obviously the Magic hit two huge shots down the stretch; both basically fade-away 3’s, the second by Rashard Lewis being the back-breaker.

And Jameer Nelson ran wild in the fourth quarter finding open team-mates and hitting huge clutch shots.

But by now it should be pretty clear that all of Toronto’s aspirations of being a elite team in the East were something of a mirage; a funhouse of mirrors and reflections not unlike something you might find in Disneyland.

And in fact Disneyland is the setting for perhaps Toronto’s final game of the season and win or lose, this series has further cemented many issues that Bryan Colangelo needs to address in the off-season.

Rebounding, perimeter defence, a secondary scoring option, consistency, point guard issues…the list goes on and on.

And it probably starts and ends with Sam Mitchell, who is already the talk of many on online rumour source concerning his status as Toronto Raptors’ head coach next season. Even with a Phoenix win last night, the word is that coach Mike D’Antoni is on the hot seat and you don’t have to be an NBA Insider to speculate that if D’Antoni takes the fall for another disappointing playoff stint with the Suns, that Bryan Colangelo wouldn’t be very interested in re-hiring his former bench boss.

However for now that’s all hearsay and speculation and kudos to the Star’s Doug Smith for calling out our old friend Peter Vescey concerning his recent piece in the New York Post.

Vescey has always been more on the Sam Smith side of rumour reporting, but his quote concerning Mitchell not knowing that Andrew Bynum wasn’t going to be playing reminds me of Kramer’s response to the mention of the name Todd Gack:

"It sounds made up!"

Why Vescey is still employed is beyond me but then again Stephen A. Smith and Billy King both have jobs as "experts" on national television so go figure.

The interesting thing to me is that Vescey goes on at length in his piece for the Post to talk about Mitchell being less diligent in his pre-game preparation and then another of the Post’s reporters turns around and writes that the Knicks may want to hire him!

Perhaps these guys should sit down and plan their editorial content out a bit better…either that or the Knicks just haven’t changed that much even minus Isiah…

I actually didn’t think that Sam Mitchell’s decisions had anything to do with the game four loss. I questioned some of his rationale earlier in the series, but this playoff match-up to me has been decided by on-court play, not sideline decisions.

As proof of this, you could really feel the frustration late in game four when Mitchell had to sub someone in for Carlos Delfino, who had just picked up his sixth foul. Mitchell knew he couldn’t use Jamario Moon who was injured, and so he just sort of stood there looking up and down his roster. It seemed like an eternity before he chose to go small with Jose Calderon replacing Delfino but the whole gesture really stood out in my mind. Between injuries and inconsistent play, this is a team that four games into the playoffs still didn’t have a good understanding of its personnel. I kept thinking that if one of the Magic players had suddenly fouled out, Stan Van Gundy would have known exactly whose number to call. But for Toronto, this season has been one of "throw a dart at the dartboard and hope you get close to the bulls-eye." At times I feel for Sam as he just doesn’t have the horses to go alongside Bosh.

Further proof of this is that Jamario Moon has suddenly emerged as an MVP for this club. With Moon in the starting line-up Toronto has kept things quite close in the first quarters of games three and four, and it was after Moon’s groin injury late in game four that Orlando really took control of things.

Moon is apparently good to go for tonight after suffering no lingering pain from yesterday’s practice and that’s good news for Toronto. They’re going to need his rebounding and athleticism tonight if they want to see a possible game six.

And with that, we turn to our three keys:

1) Point Guard Play. From today’s online edition of Florida Today, Stan Van Gundy discussed his concerns with Toronto’s point guard play but in particular, Jose Calderon:

"The most impressive thing with Calderon is that he and Nash are the best in the league at delivering the ball. His guys never have to reach because the ball is right on their hands. You don't get time to get there to contest the shot because Calderon puts it right there..."

While it’s nice to hear such praise about Jose, Calderon needs to play much better in game five tonight than he did in game four. Who knows if his neck/back is ok but in any event, the Raps need both TJ and Jose going at full tilt to have a chance to win this game. Jameer Nelson has outplayed both guards throughout the series and while TJ had a solid outing on Saturday, the Dinos need both he and Calderon to get the job done. Jose’s long-range shooting is especially valuable to help spread the floor and open looks on the inside for Toronto. As he struggled in game four, so did the Raptors.

2) Chris Bosh. Bosh hasn’t dominated Dwight Howard this series but he’s played him pretty evenly. Howard has been more of a defensive force with CB4 doing more damage scoring-wise. It’s a shame that Toronto couldn’t take advantage of such a huge game from the Raps’ franchise player on Saturday but that doesn’t mean they’ll need any less tonight. Bosh brought the necessary fire and intensity and with a bit more help from his jump-shooting team-mates, might have carried this team to a win. That wasn’t the case but I’m looking for another big game from Bosh tonight.

Rashard Lewis and the Magic wings have created major issues for Sam Mitchell and co...

3) Wing Play. While the Raptors take a lot of abuse for having a pretty simplistic series of offensive sets, the Magic aren’t exactly studying Einstein when looking to score either. Coach Sam Mitchell yesterday had this quote concerning the Magic’s attack and he’s bang on here:

"What are they running? High screen and roll, angle screen and roll and a zipper to an iso and a post-up; they're running four plays," said Mitchell. "It's not that we don't know what's coming. We know what's coming, we just have to do a better job of stopping it and staying true to our principles, locking in and making sure we do what we're supposed to do."

Therein lies the main problem with this series for me. The majority of the time, if Toronto isn’t locking in and "doing what they are supposed to do" defensively, the Magic are making them pay. And yet even when Toronto has done a decent job trying to get stops, Orlando’s superior talent at the 2-3-4 has shone through. The reality is that Anthony Parker, Moon, Delfino and Kapono simply are not at the same skill level as Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Turkoglu in particular has been a thorn in my side and I absolutely hate the match-up of Parker trying to guard him. Parker just doesn’t have the size or strength and "helping" AP out has resulted in way too many easy lay-ups for the Magic. And although Moon has solid length, he just doesn’t have the strength either to keep Turkoglu from getting where he wants to go on the court. This is the main area that needs help this off-season in my books and a long-ball hawking wing via the draft (ahem CDR) or via trade (perhaps the "greenery laws" in Canada would be more accommodating to Josh Howard?) is a must. Watching the 76ers-Pistons series you can see just how impacting players of this nature can be. Even though the Pistons evened their series with a win last night, Philly lead or kept things very close for the majority of the game thanks to being able to get into passing lanes, disrupt shots and stay in front of their opponents. The one game in which I felt Toronto’s wings outshone Orlando’s was game three, which by no coincidence, ended up being a Raptors’ win. The Raptors need a big effort at both ends of the floor from Parker, Delfino, Kapono and Moon if they want to head back to the ACC for game six.

Above all, I think we’ll really see tonight what this Raptor-team is made of; a final judgement opportunity for Bryan Colangelo and co. if you will.

If they meander through a not-so close loss then it will be quite clear that the team’s mentality just isn’t one of a contender. However if they come out with some fight and push Orlando to the max, then perhaps BC will see more to build upon than he originally thought.

So let’s put the coaching rumours and impending draft decisions aside for at least one more day.

As Richard Pryor once said: "I ain’t dead yet!"

FRANCHISE

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Comments

I thought part of the problem in game 4 was Sam sticking with Jose too long. Jose looked a bit off - still setting up teammates, but not wanting to use his shooting skill to help set them up - and Smitch should have recognized that and gone back to TJ sooner.

Sure, the two-headed PG monster can give us a huge advantage (see game 3), but when they're not both firing on all cylinders, it is okay to unbalance the playing time accordingly. They don't have to both play between 22-26 minutes every game for the 2-headed PG monster to work.

TJ looked pretty good early in game 4, and perhaps if he'd been given 35-40 minutes to stay more in the flow things might have been different in the 4th, defensive issues notwithstanding.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a TJ apologist, and I hope Colangelo can turn him into help at the 2, 3, or 5 this off-season and we go with Jose and a quick (though not necessarily younger) backup going forward, but for now TJ is here, and if he gives us the best chance in a particular game, why not ride him more?

It pissed me off how quick some people were to boo TJ in game 4. The guy right behind me gave a hearty "Ford, you suck!" every time he missed a shot. For f's sake, are you here to cheer the Raptors, or just some of them? It's the playoffs, it's not like we can trade him right now! Cheer your team or stay home and yell at the TV instead!

by MattK on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

i'm just being selfish here but i hope the raps get eliminated tonight, that way i can finally focus on finishing up this draft of my thesis instead of spending another 2.5 hours getting teased by the raps with their at-least-we-made-it-a-close-one-but-they-made-shots-and-we-did't-so-oh-well type of approach and reaction to their games.

by ted c on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Unfortunately Richard Pryor is now dead, and so are the Raps.

I said at the beginning of this season that the success of the team would hinge on Bargnani. I believe that it has. The Raps look like they have a serious deficiency with regards to overall talent. There's Bosh, then further down there's Calderon, then there's everyone else. Bargs is and was supposed to be the 1A to Bosh. If Bargs plays to his potential (20 ppg and 7 reb's) the Raps are SO much better. Instead of having a better version of Turkoglu, he's just another shlub giving us nothing more than what a waiver wire pick up could give.

I find it hard to believe that before the season started I thought Bargs had a higher ceiling than Bosh.

I still think Bargs could be one of those guys who takes longer to develop into a very good player. It might be next year, it might be in two or three years, or it might be never. It's just disappointing that a high first round pick may take so long to deliver.

by SonicSuper on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

MattK - Had a similar experience at game 4. Thought I heard someone behind me mention something about "at least we might get pizza" so I turned to see who the culprit was. Turned out to be these two seated behind me who started cheering when the Magic went to the free throw line. When Hedo hit his first free throw and they cheered, I turned around and gave them the Hayden Christensen "I'm turning into Darth Vadar" death stare.

Didn't think they'd repeat the cheer on the second free throw but when they did, I turned again and this time yelled out "yeah, let's go Leafs" while faking a high five.

I guess they thought I was turning around with other motives and ducked as if I was about to throw a punch.

They took off after that but apparently had the "heart" to say some stuff about the HQ Associate and I not being "real fans" because we were texting during the game. Yeah...texting to other Raptor fans in the building about various play calls and in-game situations...

Nothing more frustrating than knuckleheadz like that.

Ted C - I think there are a lot of fans in the same boat as you. Deep down we know even a win tonight will just prolong the tease this season has been.

I'd like to see them come out with a little fight tonight though, regardless of the outcome.

by Franchise on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Given how the Raps played in the regular season I thought they could win 1 possibly 2 playoff games. It is very evident that Raps just don’t have the talent to go any further so why are sports media speculating on the firing of the coach when there is not an iota of evidence of GM/manager disapproval. Is Colangelo’s comments that Kapono may of have been underutilized this season a firing offense?
Until the Raps’ talent pool is significantly improved there is no reason to consider a coaching change now. Let this season end so local sports media can go back to dreaming about the Leafs. I’m totally disgusted with them.

by OldSchool on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

The basketball media in Toronto is so poor...That is why i come to this post becaue Howland and Franchise is the only ones that have any idea of what is happening with the team...Have you ever listen to some of the questions from the media during the postgame interviews...sometimes I wonder what the players think about these morans...The Raps will have a better team next season but for now all is not lost a W tonight and I know that they will will game 6 but first they have to leave everything on the floor and come up with a win tonight...The game saturday was loss on the Raps not making some open looks in the 4th and the Magics making some very tough 3's to counter...Like game 2 it could have gone either way...The X-Factor tonight will be JC if Jose is aggressive and take his shots the Raps will win the game by double digits.....Raps4Life

by Raps4Life on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

"Until the Raps’ talent pool is significantly improved there is no reason to consider a coaching change now. Let this season end so local sports media can go back to dreaming about the Leafs. I’m totally disgusted with them. "

Totally agree - look at Doc Rivers, Byron Scott and Rick Adelman. Goats 1 year, COTY candidates the next...

by fromlongrange on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Franchise - the whole pizza thing is another sore point with me. I emailed Pizza Pizza's media contact and asked them to change the promotion next year to a free slice if the team wins regardless of the score, so at least people would cheer (or come away grumbling) for the right reason instead of over a slice.

I actually got a reply from the Pizza Pizza person, and then a week or so later from someone at MLSE, indicating the promotion would be reviewed and likely changed in some way... However, that could just be form letter speak, so who knows. The Pizza Pizza person also said something about an exciting new promotion for the playoffs too, but it's still just a slice for 100 points.

by MattK on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Franchise:
Re replacing Sam Mitchell. Do you really think MLSE would spend $13 million to replace the coach of this bunch of underachievers?

When your back-up PG JC (who scored 2pts in gm 4)and still has scored more points vs Orlando than your SG, SF, and your starting PG, how do you expect this team to win?

I think BC is much more likely to fire/replace the players than the coach.

by Johnn19 on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

yeah I guess you know the season is coming to an end when most of the talk turns to who's going to get fired. the potential is there for the off-season to be a doozy for the raps.

there are maybe 4 players that are untouchables at this point. bosh, bargs, calderon, and probably parker. maybe kapono.

outside of that, the whole team, including the coaching staff, is up for grabs!

we'll see what happens...(tonight first, of course.)

by papa on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

If I were the BC I would do everything possible to get Bosh some help at the 5...Answer Jemaine O'Neal just imagine ...Moon , O'Neal, Bosh, Parker Calderone as your starting five...with Andrea backing up centre, Humphries backing up Chris, Kapono and Delphino backing up the 3 and get rid of everybody else..oh almost forget TJ backing up Jose...That will take us to the next level for sure and with our draft pick BC can take a player that can create his own shots. That's a 50 win season right there.....raps4life

by Raps4Life on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I was a positive poster, but turned to the dark side halfway through the year.

Sorry guys, there's no bravado prediction left. Rationally, the Raptors have no chance in hell of winning this game.

For once I succumb to rationality.

Farewell Sam.

Promise I'll bring the positive vibes next season. Out.

6:35pm

by DayOner on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Too bad about this season...it carried a lot of optimism earlier in the year.

I vote nobody is untouchable. Absolutley nobody. Other teams need to blow things up too (see Suns, Phoenix or Mavs, Dallas).

How about former MVP Nowitzki for CB4 and Ford(+ change) for Maggette.

I dont like Sams style, but he does deserve one more year to sort the fellas out if he gets more on court assistance.

by Blue Edwards on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

One more thing...even though the Raps underachieved, I really enjoyed following their season, and I really enjoyed reading this board on a daily basis. Good work by all contributors involved...

Is is wrong that I type all this when the boys are in theory still alive?

by Blue Edwards on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry I was low there for a minute, forget that.

Let's just say I channeled Keon Clark tonight and stepped it up myself.

Raptors 100 Orlando 98

Do it!

7:28pm

by DayOner on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Raps win first quarter! Woo Hoo! Good positive signs. I'm singing and dancing. haha. We might have a chance to win after all. All games have been won by whoever won the first quarter.

by BargsBust on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

54 seconds left. Get out the salami and cheese, mama, this season is over!
We were not prepared to move up this season. We got killed on the glass and in the paint all year long. BC didn't solve that one.
As for this series, I still think if Howard gets fouls like everyone else, the series goes to 7. But, bottom line, 6 million for Kapono does not beat 12 for Lewis. Our point guards did not win their position. The only match up we won was, ironically, the Magic's greatest strength - Howard. Bosh bested him a little. But after that, it is across the board.
I love Sam, but in the time he has been here, there has been no defence. BC is gonna have to get to work.

by EaseMyPain on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

For once the winner of the 1st quarter didn't come out on top. I called Magic in 5, did we have a chance in this series? absolutely, too bad it took Smitch 2 games to put Moon back in the starting lineup. At least now we can deal Ford, get a legit 2nd scoring option, and get rid of Smitch..

by Ro on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

now the draft and trade talk can begin.

this club was just not good enough.

by raptorville on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

maybe.....just maybe the raps should of set their sites higher and tried to get in position to play Detroit or Boston or are the 76'ers and Hawks better teams than the raps?

by Davl on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

What A Forgettable season.
BC has a ton of work to do, and im not sure he can do it all this summer

by Sho on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Looking at how Hawks and Sixers are playing out of their minds. I think it is safe to say that the Raptors were the worst team of all 16 in the playoffs. Sad really...

by sonnyb on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

here is Sam post-game...

"We knew in the regular season that every time we played the Orlando Magic that you’ve got to score, and we just couldn’t score," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "We didn’t make enough shots."

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRGGGG!

That is your $$&^@&%!#$ brilliant analysis, Sam?

Enough "shats"? Go home. Just...leave.

Can we get someone to coach who can actually do the job?

by gerry on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

A Ford-gettable season indeed. Hopefully that was TJ's last game in a Raps uni. I think Delfino is gone as well.

Bargnani needs to go through one helluva an off season training regimen. For the most part, fans were incredibly patient with him this year. But next year if he comes out flat the fans and media will be on his ass.

Man. I'm on my way over to nbadraft.net for the first time in ages. No more Raps ball until Halloween. Gonna be a long off-season.

by SonicSuper on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Gerry, you made me laugh so hard because what you wrote is so true.
It's too bad that Bargnani is a bust, because if he played anything like a number one pick the Raptors would have won this series. Howard is a number one pick and he's a superstar. Remember the best teams in the NBA are those that draft well. We didn't draft well and therein lies our problem. We're probably going to be screwed for the next 5 years or so because of Bargnani.
Brace yourself people, it's going to be a long time before we are contenders for a championship.
We need a coach that can execute.

by BargsBust on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

the best part of the season for me was finding this site, great job howland and franchise, and it was a pleasure sharing the season with everyone here. Does coverage and commentary continue here through the off season? This fan thinks one more year for smitch, trade ford and rasho, get a rebounding defence specialist or a slasher at the three, have moon and kapono the first options off the bench.

by adam on Apr 28, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

You guys called it, Magic in five. Not really a surprise. What, on the other hand, happens to Boston if they get theirs handed to them?

The vulnerability that Boston has had all season was to a quick point guard who could manhandle Rondo. Johnson seems up to the task. Really, Smith and Horford are playing the big man to Garnett and seem to be containing him. Pierce and Allen seem to be getting cold. Another vulnerability on paper at least was Boston's short bench. All season was just smoke and mirrors? Hmmm...Another one, seems to me, to be the coach. Doc Rivers has been lambasted on this site and others before, last year. Suddenly with 3 all-stars he is a genius. Can he respond?

Playoff pressure...The series is not over yet, of course, but if the Hawks can throw a scare into them, think what the Pistons will do. Much less the contender coming from the West.

The tapes of this series will be fodder for upcoming rivals big time.

by gerry on Apr 29, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions