Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game Report - Crash and Burn

by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Nov 26, 2009 8:32 AM EST Comment 28 comments

Unfortunately this was only one of many dunks Toronto allowed last night in a disaster of an effort...

It's hard to know where to begin in terms of breaking down an abomination like last night's loss to the Bobcats...but unlike last night's incarnation of the Raptors, the HQ gives it their best...

I had to double check the final score.

Then triple check it.

Yes, the Toronto Raptors did indeed lose last night to the Charlotte Bobcats by 35.

The sad thing is I sat through the game, and yet still was in disbelief.

In the most lopsided victory in the history of their young franchise, the Bobcats ran a clinic in a 116 to 81 romp over the Raptors. The 'Cats took control for good in the game's second half, then never looked back, turning this one into a laugher before the fourth quarter even began.

So where to begin in terms of breaking this one down?

To be honest, I have no idea.

To put it simply, this was a game the Raps needed to get, with matches looming against the Celtics and Suns. A win would have at least ensured the club closed out November with an 8 and 10 record, respectable considering the team's schedule.

Now, things could look a lot closer to the 5 and 13 I predicted to open the season; dare we say 7 and 11 in fact? What really has to get you though as a fan is that there's no reason the Dinos couldn't have come out of the month at .500 or hovering right around that mark. Last night's loss was just another brick in the "this team has a long ways to go" wall.

Let's start with the defence, which again was non-existent.

The Raps gave up 116 points to a club that was averaging about 85 on the season and one of the least effecient offensive clubs in the league. Yes, Stephen Jackson helps sway that average, but it's not like the Bobcats were raining jumpers all night! The club shot only 45 per cent from the field and only 28 per cent from downtown so the majority of the damage was done either in the paint or on the fast break. The Raps simply allowed the 'Cats to do whatever they wanted offensively with virtually no resistance given. Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh were especially terrible in this regard; there might as well not have been any defenders on the interior for most of the night.

One sequence in particular stuck out as to the Raps ineffectiveness.

Raymond Felton drove the ball along the left baseline and after easily getting by Jose Calderon, looped a pass to Nazr Mohammed in the paint. The pass went right by Bargnani, Nazr's defender, because Andrea was turned the wrong way and had no chance of intercepting the dime. Mohammed missed the shot, but easily grabbed his miss for the put-back as Bosh and Andrea just sort of stood there, watching the ball.

Incomprehensible from a fan's perspective and probably to a coach's as well.

Speaking of coaching, you've got to tip your hat to the job Larry Brown did last night. His team locked in defensively and simply exposed each and every one of Toronto's weaknesses.

The best example of this in my books was Charlotte's play on the fast break. Yesterday I wrote that the 'Cats played at the league's second slowest pace but having watched the game last night, you never would have known. Knowing that Toronto's transition defence was particularly miserable, the Bobcats ran the ball down Toronto's throat all night, leading to a dizzying array of dunks and easy baskets. It was these plays that sucked out whatever little life the Raps had in them, and by the time there were about 3 minutes left in the third quarter, you got the feeling this one was over.

So now what?

Well, last night I was angry enough to go on a complete tirade about this club but having slept on the loss, I'm hoping instead that this becomes the proof in the pudding - not just to players but to the coaches and the team's management.

You simply can't rely on offense alone.

Toronto couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door, as my Dad used to say, last night and as a result had no other options in terms of trying to stay in the game. Toronto's "big 3" were particularly atrocious, relying far too often on jump shots and outside of Amir Johnson, the rest of the team seemed to follow suit.

There's one of the "big 3" though that I want to touch on in particular; Hedo Turkoglu.

One of our readers noted last night that up until very late in the game, Gerald Wallace had nary a foul. Considering Wallace's style of play at both ends of the court, this seemed absurd!

Then I remembered that he was guarding Hedo.

Hedo settled for J's all night, and failed to show any sort of "attack mode" against Wallace, or any of the other Bobcats for that matter, something simply not acceptable considering the expectations placed on him. It's games like last night's where Toronto needs a lift from guys like him and Bargs, in particular when Bosh too is struggling with his shot, so to essentially be invisible for 48 minutes ain't gonna cut it.

And to really rub salt in the wound, consider that most of the offensive damage last night was done by the very player Hedo was supposed to be guarding, a player with many of the Shawn Marion-esque intangibles that I was pining for this past off-season.

The Raptors of course went in another direction and I'm unfortunately we're seeing the results of the "all O/no D" philosophy.

Granted, this loss isn't the end of the world.

It's only game number 16 of 82, so maybe this is the kick in the ass the players and coaches need to really lock-in defensively in practice.

I hope so.

Because the joke of an effort last night wasn't fit for a junior high basketball squad, let alone an NBA one.

Last night's game should definitely have been a W but as I mentioned in the game-day preview yesterday, until this team figures out some D and more consistent O, I think as fans we can unfortunately expect a lot more matches like this to come.

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A few observations...

I thought the Raptors were playing decently in the first quarter on offense and defense. Then Jose got a case of butterfingers early in the second quarter and passed it along to the rest of the team. As bad as the defense became in the second 1/2, it was the turnovers in the second quarter that started the slide.

This team runs out of gas pretty quickly.

Outside of Johnson, the second team showed why they are on the second team. Jack reverted to the bad player he’d been at the beginning of the season. Basically, the PGs produced a 9 assist, 8 turnover game, which is just brutal.

When the game was still in doubt, DD played with a little bit of fire. I thought he was OK tonight. Sure Wallace got a ton of points, but a lot of that came off of turnovers and there wasn’t much that DD could do about those points.

I had a Moon moment when Wright tried a completely open 3pter. The difference is that with Moon, I would have a hope of it actually going in. I almost think that Jay should fine him $500 every time he scores in any way other than by dunk or free throw.

by siggian on Nov 26, 2009 9:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

A good point – against a team that’s as good defenisvely as the Bobcats are, you just can’t be sloppy with the ball, or make bad decisions on O. I found there were way too many early jumpers in the shot clock, and considering Toronto’s rebounding issues, the Cats were just hauling in the boards, beating TO up the court, and dunking it in.

by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Nov 26, 2009 1:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No D = No wins

So far this season, the Raptors have played playing poorly. Even in the Raptors wins they have put forth a lack-luster effort that doesn’t say much for the great fan support the team receives. Originally, I was very apprehensive of picking up Hedo given his lack of chemistry with the Raps in general. I knew that there would be a problem because both him and Andrea enjoy hanging out by the three point line for some reason. So, both Andrea and Hedo are inevitably cancelling each other out.

Watching last nights performance of the Bobcats, BC must be kicking himself since he never attempted to sign either Gerald Wallace or Stephen Jackson. Hedo has not received enough critism in the media. He is being paid a crazy amount of money and has failed to produce any semi-decent numbers this season.

As for Jose. 6 turnovers and 6 points. I really don’t know if we are still dealing with professional players anymore. If I we Jay Triano, I would screw all that crap about team game and get into the face of players that are screwing it up for everyone. That goes for Jack as well. The point guard is equivalent to the quarterback in football. So, if the PG is not getting players involved or setting the game’s tempo, you are going to lose the majority of the time.

by Slick_Rick on Nov 26, 2009 9:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

"One of NBA's Worst Defenses..."

Gotta love when the AP starts talking about your team like this:

But he took advantage of one of the NBA’s worst defenses by beating numerous defenders off the dribble and getting to the line, while combining with Jackson on the game’s decisive run.

Except they’re actually being excessively positive – Raptors have the NBA’s worst defense. But nobody on the team (i.e. the coaches, Colangelo) seems to be doing anything about it – or anything that’s remotely working.

by teamd on Nov 26, 2009 9:54 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'd be shocked if this were the case this early in the season...

… but that loss had the look of a dysfunctional team who has completely tuned out their coaching staff.

I don’t see how a professional basketball team can put so little effort in on the defensive end, night in and night out. It’s ridiculous.

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 26, 2009 10:09 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Have to agree...

I know it is waaaaay early, and Triano has a 3 year deal, and I’m not saying fire the guy…. But last nights pathetic effort, along with those in Dallas, Denver and San Antonio coupled with Antoine Write already publicly questioning the defensive strategy doesn’t bode well for Coach Triano. There has been some good, for sure. But a lot of bad as well. Hey they fired Smitch after 17 games last year… Has this team shown more effort in their blowouts than last year? Not comparing the two coachs, just saying…

How a team can come out and just essentially stop playing hard is a mystery to me. EVERY TEAM has back-to-backs in this league no other team in the league leans on them like a crutch for an excuse when they don’t compete like the Raptors. Especially as the Raps are a relatively young team, this should not be an issue!! The Raps have 21 back to backs this year. If this attitude continues, they ain’t going anywhere this year. Then goodbye Bosh, hellow perpetual lottery.

by MAS11 on Nov 26, 2009 4:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They’re basically staring at 18 more game that they have little to no chance at winning (if they keep up this effort in back-to-backs) followed by any road games against top-level teams. That’s a lot of losses… Or at the very least a string of games where they will win a very low percentage… Not exactly the stuff playoff contenders are made of…

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 26, 2009 4:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That was a horrible showing

If our offense is off, we will struggle to win.
Last night a good defence beat a good offence.

Nobody is tuning anyone what………………

by Tinmann on Nov 26, 2009 12:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

All Star Game

watching this bunch is like watching the all star game all year long no D all O
and lets get that website going that guy is terrible

by Davl on Nov 26, 2009 12:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It’s almost like as the Raptors’ defence gets worse, so does Devlin.

by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Nov 26, 2009 1:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Raptors got muscled and pushed around, on a second night of a back to back. Sorta expected a let down loss. A lot of media was just way, WAY too high on this team after the Indiana win. The fundamental issues with this team still remain even in their wins since they just don’t fight other teams as much as they can or should. I don’t know if it’s just communication on D or whatever, but ever since the first week or so the defense has gotten progressively weaker in my opinion.

Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com Twitter @RapHQVicious

by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Nov 26, 2009 12:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

In the NBA there are no should be wins !!! Stop thinking that way.

Give the Cats full credit for an OUTSTANDING defensive effort, at home on 2/3 days rest.

13 steals on 18 Raptors turnovers, and scoring 29 points off turnovers, 29 POINTS, scoring on dunks on just about each one.

16 blocked shots, with 6 by Chandler, 3 by Mohammed, SIXTEEN, unbelievable.

Raptors helped them out by shooting a season low 34.5 % , one night after shooting 55.8 % vs Indy. UNBELIEVABLE, they could collectively be that bad

Raptors have a total of 16 back to backs still to play with only 5 of them ending at home.

Hopefully JT will be able to find a way to get some motivational WINS @ 0-3 to start, if it continues, it will sink the good ship Raptors.

by Johnn19 on Nov 26, 2009 12:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not only no “easy wins,” but this team needs to compete for 48 minutes straight. I got the feeling last night in the first half that they were just sort of happy to hang around, thinking that their shooting would heat up later in the game, propelling them to the win.

by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Nov 26, 2009 1:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How to go from a HERO to a BUM in 24 hours

Jarret Jack vs Indy 7/7fg-18pts-6asts “PLAYER OF THE GAME”. Raps 123-112 Win

Jarret Jack vs Charlotte 1/9 fg-2pts-1ast back to “underperformer”. Rap’s 81-116 Lose

Aint the NBA Fun, and unpredictable.

Granted one game only of 82, but what a contrast in player and team performance, 24 hours later.

by Johnn19 on Nov 26, 2009 1:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I knew the Raptors' D would be bad this year, but not this bad.

I guess Iavaroni isn’t the defensive specialist everyone was hyping him up to be. If this keeps up, he’s not going to have a job after this season ends.

by Frag on Nov 26, 2009 1:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Iavaroni is a complete fraud who should be fired immediately.

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 26, 2009 3:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

A certified plumber might know how to install pipes, but he/she can’t do it without the tools. Ivaroni can only do so much, the players have to execute.

by Member29 on Nov 26, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Are we overreacting?

Last night our defence was as bad as it always has been but the difference was (1) we were on a back to back and looked tired and (2) the Bobcats are playing their best basketball EVER right now; we were the second team this week that they demolished.
Combine those two factors and you get a L for sure.

Despite being a bad defensive team, on Tuesday night (and other nights) this team showed they had a clue of how to play D but on a back to back with tiring legs out there, a bad defensive team will look exactly how we did, BAD.

Let’s not over react yet, it’s still way too early in the season to make any final decisions on this team.

One thing I will say tho is this team is clearly not complete, we still don’t have all the pieces necessary to compete consistently on a high level.

by Member29 on Nov 26, 2009 1:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It’s not about making final decisions, you’re right. But this was a horrible effort and it deserves a strong, negative reaction.

by Vic De Zen on Nov 26, 2009 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't wait until Bosh Leaves

Basketball is the most individualistic of all major American sports. By far. Want to win? Give Kobe the ball 28 straight times and see what happens. You can’t do that in baseball, even John McDonald has to bat when his spot comes up. You can’t do that in football because half your team is off the field at all times. You can’t do that in hockey because well, who cares, hockey’s not a real sport.

HOWEVER. Defense is basketball is all about team and all about leaders. Bosh sucks at defense and subsequently he allows all the people around him to suck too. I blame this kind of defensive effort 100% on him and it is the #1 reason he needs to go at the end of the year and we need to build around someone who tries on D. Granted whoever that might be (Carlos Boozer?), it’s going to be near-impossible to light a fire under dead-men-walking Calderon-Turkoglu-Bargnani, but at least he could inspire effort and hopefully teach DeRozan etc. how to play the game.

Fire Bosh. (or trade him while foolish GMs in other markets still think he’s an average player with healthy knees)

by Original Aaron on Nov 26, 2009 4:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

You think Carlos Boozer would inspire effort on the defensive end of the floor?

Read some of Kelly Dwyer’s posts:

Utah got out to a white hot start because the Raptors just can’t guard anyone – anyone – and the Raptors came back to make a game of this mainly because Carlos Boozer(notes) can’t guard anyone. Anyone. It’s amazing what one power forward can do to a team defensively, but Boozer just seems to have a hand in every blown rotation, every open jumper off a pass from a guard who was allowed easy penetration, and every offensive rebound.

Weird, because Boozer had 18 rebounds, 11 defensive, but he was grabbing instead of boxing out, and it allowed Toronto some easy looks. Involve him in a pick and roll, and a few passes later, you have a good look. He’s just a problem.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Behind-the-Box-Score-where-the-Nets-still-haven?urn=nba,203672#remaining-content

Carlos Boozer(notes) took care of business offensively in the fourth quarter (that guy, I’m sorry, he still does some stuff defensively that is just … odd),

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Behind-the-Box-Score-where-the-Lakers-can-do-th?urn=nba,203897#remaining-content

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 26, 2009 5:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree on so many levels

Aaron, Although I’m not a huge Bosh fan, I appreciate the good things that he brings to our team and can live with the fact that he isn’t and never will be a lock down defender. If Bosh was on another team and we were relying on Chris Humphries for example to be our PF, we’d be wishing we had a guy like Bosh.

Not you particularly Aaron, but I think us fans (including me) are sometimes unappreciative of what we got in certain players and its only until they are gone and we have to rely on talents like K. Humphries and POB that we realize that what we had wasn’t so bad after all.

Bosh is an excellent PF, not the best PF by a long shot but he’s a pretty good one. I’d take Bosh at PF over 95% of the other PFs in the league.

by Member29 on Nov 26, 2009 5:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice!!!

“Basketball is the most individualistic of all major American sports. By far. Want to win? Give Kobe the ball 28 straight times and see what happens. You can’t do that in baseball, even John McDonald has to bat when his spot comes up. You can’t do that in football because half your team is off the field at all times. You can’t do that in hockey because well, who cares, hockey’s not a real sport.”

Take that NHL and it’s stuck upCanadian fans. A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

by Posterized on Nov 26, 2009 11:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

stop being so insipid

Anyone who still makes “overreacting” comments after years of the same sort of complacent, underachieving, arrogant, weak lame displays like last night, deserves the losing team that Toronto is doomed to be. Anyone who still places lame trust in Colangelo and Triano deserves the losing team that will inevitably result.

Colangelo lucked out with the dumbest fan base in the NBA ..one that falls for the sort of inanity that the broadcast crew spews out without protesting…

FACT: even with a much better roster, Triano will have a worse record than Mitchell when he was fired unless they beat Boston in which case that insipid drip will only have the SAME record that Mitchell managed.

If you are listening to Devlin, Rautins and Armstrong without your blood boiling at their banal, pathetic refusal to call this incompetence what it is, you don’t deserve a winner.

Every goddamn team in the NBA has back to backs, some have had much worse injuries than the Craptors and many are dealing with as many new starters and active players as the Raptors…there is NO EXCUSE for lack of effort, energy and intensity and if you continue to listen to these a**wads, you don’t deserve any more than you have been getting for years…

Wake up and stop being such insipid drips and demand better!

by d57fan on Nov 26, 2009 4:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Maybe a bit aggressive...

…but hard to argue with many of these points.

And is it possible that Colangelo has looked better using Babcock’s leftovers than he has bringing in his own troops for the most part??? Scary.

That being said, still think this team has playoff potential, and considering my expectations weren’t so high to begin with, I’ll be happy if they get in.

by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Nov 26, 2009 8:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm

I would agree with most of this minus the expletatives and with less “insipid drips”. What I will disagree with is the criticism of Triano. I don’t think he and his coaching staff have had a fair chance to implement whatever their defensive strategy is considering the players seem to think each game is a race to 200 points.

by Posterized on Nov 26, 2009 11:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs