0 for 3

Rautins really screwed the pooch on this one. Of course, when you give the head coaching job to someone with zero head coaching experience (not to mention his minimal insight as a colour commentator), I don't know what we were expecting. What a slap in Jay Triano's face.

It is going to be super akward this year if Leo to broadcasting 76ers games - heeellllllo - I sense more Jack Armstrong

LOL. Good point Albert and I agree, thought leo was terribbbbble. His son and english played way too much considering all the shots they kept jacking up. I think you got it right franchise by saying that really there were like 5 guys who should have been playing all the minutes. Devoe Josph cant come soon enough.

PS - Just saw that Delfino is off to Russia for 3 years at $10 Million a pop! This gives you an idea of what type of cap room Toronto would have needed to have to keep him. Wouldn't have been as large, but I'm guessing it would have taken at least half that...

I do not blame Rautins (completely) for this fiasco. The fact of the matter is Canada is a busted ass country when it comes to international sports (unless it is hockey). The Canadian government continuously refuses to invest money into amateur sports and instead waste gobs of money on the bureacracy that runs them instead of at the bottom end. Basketball Canada is a joke. These idiots have run the program into the ground and will continue to do so.
So what is the solution? Well seeing as the way amatuer sports are run is unlikely to change, there isn't much that can be done. However if I was in charge this is what I would do.
Find a big name coach regardless of nationality and pay them what ever they want. The key here is to bring someone in to whom the better Canadian players will listen to. I do not blame Dalembert for blowing off Rautins (assuming that is what went down). Rautins is just not experienced enough of a coach to get the instant respect that we need. Think about it. The advantage of having a lot of good players (like the US) is that if one player acts like a selfish punk, they can go out and get his replacement without a lot of drop off. Canada isn't in that position. We need guys like Nash, Dalembert and even Magloire to play and they obviously will not play for someone they do not respect. There are a lot of great coaches out there and if you threw a ton of money (5 million per year minimum) one of them will probably do it. Popovich/Sloan come to mind here (I realise they have full time jobs but the HC Position for the international squad isn't a full time position). Convincing someone of that calibre is imperative. I guarentee you that if Popovich had coached the Canada squad, Nash and Magloire would have been there. Magloire's lame excuse that he is unsigned is just pathetic because we all know he will be lucky to get a vets minimum from someone and it is actually in his best interest to play for Canada to showcase that he can still play at a high level. Rautins could be the head assistant under the PopoSloan running things when the HC is unavailable and thus actually learning how to run a team and building up his own prestige as well.
Rautins cannot be blamed for not getting the respect the position needs. He is what he is. Until he gets more experience as a head coach instead of providing colour to the Raptor broadcasts, we will be in this position for ever.

I too watched last night's game on NBA.com and wasn't too thrilled with the Raps overall play.

The officiating was sketch to say the least and although I like what Joey Graham is doing on the offensive end, I know that int the regular season against real NBA talent, Joey's aggressiveness won't be able to hold up (even though it has been promising). He still makes poor decisions on the defensive end, which once again has lead to his 8 personal fouls.

No one else really impressed me. Giles was good this game and has played pretty decent overall, but whatever! Carroll was good in game 1 and hasn't done much of anything since. Benson and Banks were just kind of floating around. Both PG's haven't shown me why they deserve to be on an NBA roster.

I was really disappointed that Jawai didn't play. We finally get a clear feed that isn't dark and grainy and he gets a DNP. I think it must have something to do with his groin injury.

From Buffery in the Sun this morning:

Leo finally speaks and puts some perspective on the Dalembert situation.

http://torontosun.com/Sports/Basketball/2008/07/18/6192196-sun.html

RoKo,will be an improvement over Dixon and Humpty Dumpty period.Its not like like he will be playing big minutes,just enough to give Jose a blow.Unless there are injuries ....

Woke up at 7 AM to watch the disaster of the second half of the quarterfinals.

BUT, Franchise, I would claim that the Raps were 1 for 4 last night, not 0 for 3. I was quite impressed by Roko; he looked very smart and smooth -- similar to Delfino, in fact (but hopefully won't be as much of a chucker). The fact that he is a 6'5 inch PG, and that means he was taller or one inch shorter than 7 of the 11 Canadian players, didn't hurt. But he has a real height advantage against some of the NBA midgets like Jameer and, well, TJ.

As for Azubuike, even though he would be a better pickup than Joey or Hump (two buff, yet clueless benchwarmers)... it is important to state that he strutted his stuff on a team that is the exact OPPOSITE of the Raps' new look -- half-court sets with Calderon feeding the twin towers. I mean, Al 6'9 inch Harrington played C for the Warriors over the past couple of seasons, who is shorter than Bosh, JO, Bargs and Hump. So who knows how well a freelance slasher like Kelenna would do on the Raps?

I wish i knew more about Azubuike's game... Whats his major weakness other than inconsistancy? He's Petrius #2 for Golden State and has so many of the same mysterious qualities to his game...

JJ - Good point ha ha. Ok so 1 for 4 then.

Interesting points on Azubuike too. The fact of the matter is that really has never proven that he can be even a starter in this league let alone a good one. I guess I just had him flagged as sort of an under-the-radar guy who could really make an impact because of his scoring and athleticism. I actually think that's something Toronto is really going to need this year, a shot creator on the perimter as if the "twin-towers" can't get anything going in the first 15-20 seconds of the shot clock and there is no double coverage on either, who do they kick out to who can make something happen? Perhaps Jose but unless Jamario takes things to the next level, it would be nice to have at least one guy who create off the dribble without barreling through 3 guys for an offensive foul. Ahem...Joey...

Random thoughts coming in...

-Anyone else tempted to take a Ricky Davis at a vet minimum given the needed wing help right now? I'd say worst case scenario he turns out to be an arse and they give him the boot. I would hope he would see the opportunity for the starting SF and take it...

- "affordable experienced Combo guard" screams Flip Murray, Delonte West(not likely affordable), Smush Parker, Lindsey Hunter, and TJ's buddy Royal Ivey are all possible "slip through the cracks for a vet minimum deal" candidates this year...

First: Why is Leo Rautins the coach of our national team. He has no coaching experience. There is a reason why Leo isn't coaching in the NBA, cause all he is, is a color guy. Even as a tv commentator he annoys me.

Does anyone remember when Philly comes to town, how he talks about Samuel. Now Sams off the team???? What the...

Triano didn't have much of a team the last two years with Team canada. But now there are essential pieces to the relatively small puzzle and Leo can't get everyone on the same page? I wonder if he'll ever get a job when he's fired from Team Canada.

Hey edgar, with the signing of Adams I don’t see Davis as being a possibility. Ricky Davis is actually a pretty decent wing player though and in my opinion he’s an underappreciated talent. He’s probably worth more than the Vet. Min. Flip Murray would be a good addition; I never understood what it was about his game that made teams sit him on the bench or trade him. Whenever I saw Flip play he played well enough. He’s probably going to be more money than we’re willing to spend though.

I wouldn’t touch the rest of players on your list though. Ivey mayyybe.

This may sound simplistic, but I saw better ball players in Ontario college ball....what happens to those players?

Only legit guys to make it were Denham (didn't make it too gfar yet) and Jamaaaaal.....sorry Rowan but German league doesn't cut it for your skill set.(guy was sick tho).......for all you that remember Magloire was also a wicked high school player.

Off topic:

High school road trip I got to see Villanova Vs. Syracuse 1996 (?)
Sweet game, Tim Thomas and Alvin Williams, Thomas was a crazy standout, he got 30+ points in that game....thought he'd be a superstar at 6'9, stuff he could do.

Yay, finally a win. Not that it matters in summer league, but embarrassing the Lakers is always fun.

I finally got a chance to see Jawai in action and he looked decent. Even on the grainy video feed you can tell that he's massive. Once he established his position there wasn't a single player on the Lakers roster that could budge him an inch.

Let's start with the bad stuff first, he's definitely raw. He has a good instinct for post moves, but had a lot of trouble finding the bottom of the basket. His poor shooting carried through to the free-throw line. Where he managed an abysmal 2-7. He stroke looks bad too, not quite shaq-like ugly, but close.

He is also a little out of control at times, when trying to block shots. At least, five or six times I saw him flailing wildly through the air after a shot attempt. He might have gotten one or two if his motion was more controlled. The one time I saw him block a shot(he had two blocks, but I must have missed the other one) he sent it into the stands with such velocity that he might have killed someone. That is if there were more spectators there.

He doesn't seem to be in real great shape. Though he is coming back from an injury, so that could be a factor. I saw him standing around with his hands on his legs a couple of times, when he should definitely been moving. I think it would help him a great deal if he lost about 20-25 lbs. He would still be massive, but he stamina would benefit greatly.

On to the good. He is a exceptionally agile for a man of his size. This really helps him in terms of shot-blocking and rebounding, since his timing really isn't that great in either case.

He really knows how to use his bulk. He was religious about establishing position in the post and blocking his man out. He also, did a great job of backing his man down. Although he didn't shot that well he gave himself a lot of good opportunities. As a bonus, he was able to force the opposing player into fouling him to prevent him from getting a quality shot off.

Though his is clearly still very raw, he seems to have good instincts. He always, recognized when it was a good time to attack his man and when he should give the ball up. He was always there in the right position for rebounds, though he fumble a couple of them away. He even made a nifty pass to a cutting player, who I want to say was Banks, which would have been an assist if the Laker defender hadn't fouled.

To summerize. Bad, Raw, questionable shooting touch. Good, size, agility and instincts.

Oddly enough there were also some other players on the floor for the Raptors and some of them are even worth mentioning.

The point guards seemed to have switched roles from last game. Lucas seemed in control for the entire game and Ewing looked lost. I was surprised when I checked the boxscore, because it really felt like Lucas should have had more assist. He did an excellent of getting his teammates involved and taking what the defence was giving him. He really seemed like a poor man's version of TJ. Which also means that he occasionally spent too much time dribbling around and once or twice decided he was going to score and nothing was going to stop him. Not that you can complain when he hit 75% off his shots. I still don't think he's an NBA quality PG, but he certainly had a good night.

Hassan Adams picked up where he left off last game. He really looked like he deserved to be playing in the NBA. In 20 minutes of action he had 8pts, 7rebs, 4asts, 3stls and a block. He was probably the best player on the floor. His only mistake was a sloppy pass on a fast-break.

Joey Graham looked very good. He was much more focused than last game. He made the right decisions on both ends of the floor. If he can play with this kind of focus every game, he deserves to get significant minutes next season. Maybe, the summer league is just what he needs. Of course, we've seen good Joey before...

The only other player who looked like he could one day be an NBAer was Akindele. This guy actually has some talent. He rebounded well, contested shots and had at least one nasty dunk. Hearing the announcer mispronounce his name was also lots of fun.

On a tangent, would it really cost that much to up the production values on these games a little bit. The video quality was awful and the camera man lost track of the action a couple of times. Some announcers would also be nice.

If you think Jaycee Carroll has a shot at making the team, it's not happening. He got blocked cleanly on the perimeter. The guy who blocked him took the ball back for an easy 2 points. He also got stripped cleanly as he was trying to decide what to do with the ball. He did manage to steal the ball back, but there's no way this guy should ever be playing in the NBA,

Sean Banks actually looked pretty decent for most of the night. Then he dribble the ball off his own leg.

Joel Bosh got some garbage minutes and managed to score a bunch of points. He also managed to pick up a bunch of fouls. He really doesn't seem the least bit like Chris. I hope he enjoys his career in Europe or the D-league.

Hmm... I didn't realize the post would be so long when I started. Too bad no one will read it...

Sorael,

I read it...so that makes at least 1 :) Thanks for your efforts