Rule # 1: stop the bleeding … check!
Rule # 2: fix the problem … uhmm, working on it.
So the Raptors won a game, I’m not going to say a must win, but it was. Can’t be losing to lesser teams at this point of the season. Those sorts of transgressions can only happen at the beginning of the year when things are being worked out/through; or at the end of the season, when things don’t matter, and Baston, Graham and Martin running wild on the court.
It was a disappointing win really, the game shouldn’t have been so close. The Raptors should have won by 25. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds, 17…SEVENTEEN! Which led to 9 more shots from the field for Philly. Ridiculous. Bosh had 1 rebound…1! To put it in perspective, Bargnani had 2. As a team, the Raptors pulled down 34. Absolutely unacceptable.
In a game where you can’t grab a rebound for your life, why did Humphries only get 5 minutes? I mean, he can definitely bang with Evans and Dalembert in the blocks. Also, with the game in hand in the fourth, was it necessary to play Calderon until about 2.5 minutes left in the game?
What bothers me about this is that in games where the Raptors are down, and clawing to get back in, Mitchell deems it necessary to sit Calderon to start the 4th. The stabilizing force on the offense, the guy who distributes the ball, who knocks down his open jumpers, and can penetrate sits on the bench when we need him. But in blowouts, he plays through and racks up 41 minutes. What the hell is that?
The last thing that bothered me about this game was the Samuel Dalembert love fest. I’m with Mitchell on this, it is not necessary to give the guy a a pre-game rub down, when he is on the visiting team. What gets me the most is that the guy isn’t even that good. I mean, he grabs some boards, blocks some shots, and hits a couple jumpers…but so does everyone else who plays basketball.
Leo and Chuck maintained an unwarrented high level of praise for the guy throughout the game. I guess 8pts, 6rebs and 2blocks deserves getting your balls licked. Who’da thunk it?
Technorati Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Chuck Swirsky, Jose Calderon, Kris Humphries, Leo Rautins, Philidelphia 76ers, Reggie Evans, Sam Mitchell, Samuel Dalembert, Toronto Raptors, Maceo Baston, Joey Graham, Darrick Martin
January 10th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Calderon needs to get some rest at some point, he’s playing a lot of minutes. I thought he had a very good game today, he looked to run which I liked the most. I think in a game where you can afford to let-off just a little bit, it might not be a bad idea to give him some rest.
Hump was the victim of Sam’s quick hook after bobbling the ball. Not sure it warranted such an extreme response from Mitchell, especially given our rebounding issues. We’re lucky we shot the ball well otherwise this could’ve been an L because we got dominated in the paint.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:45 am
calderon definitely shouldn’t have played more than 32 minutes. delfino was playing well, he could have split time at the point with dixon. why did bc keep martin, if mitchell isn’t going to play him? isn’t he on this team for this very reason?
hump bobbles the ball every game he plays, i didn’t understand why this was any different. he must have had one glass of water too many during practice. smitch hates that shit.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I was also wondering why Hump was sitting in favour of Joey/Rasho when we desperately needed some rebounding. Whenever he’s on the floor, he strings up some solid minutes, especially when he’s not trying too much on the offensive end.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
We could sit here all day and try to reason with the coaching strategy of Smitch, but i dont think we’ll get anywhere. He’ll need to sit down Calderon for a few more mintues and he’ll need to find rebounding somewhere down the bench (hump). I dont understand either why Martin dresses and doesnt see the floor at all. just 5 minutes would suffice and why did BC sign Baston to an offer sheet if he’s just going to sit day in and day out? just seems to me like we could use another big body to crash the boards sometimes.
so what do you guys think BC will do come trade deadline day? rebounding? does he have enough to go the other way? will he make a blockbuster?
January 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I have a feelin’ BC is going to make another one of his moves. All Star Break is coming. Better to make a move now then wait till after everyone else snags up the good ones. Could be the reason Sam is trying to play everyone a little with no consistency. Maybe he’s trying to showcase some players to get move valve for a trade. You never know. I know Sam is not the GM but people do talk behind closed doors. Because for some reason Rasho minutes have been drastically cut. I know El Mago is starting but where is Rasho off the bench? Hurt? Maybe thinking about a trade so they are working him out of the line up?? Maybe plays small for match ups. Could be Rasho’s older and getting a break for the heavey minutes he played when Bosh & Barrgnani where hurt. I don’t understand the rotation. Don’t sneeze or you could be pulled by Sam. If players make a quick unadvised shot or are standing around wondering about the color of the court instead of playing defence, sure pull them. But in basketball it’s all about a groove. And our teams can’t develop one because the rotation is change faster then the weather in Canada!
All I Wanted for Christmas is a Steady Rotation!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
a steady rotation is a tall order. we haven’t had that since mitchell came on board.
as far as trades go, if one hasn’t been made yet, nothing will happen untill the all-star break. gm’s usually wait until then, as they are all in the same place, and can really negotiate quickly to make things happen.
i have no idea what colangelo is going to do, dude is operating on a level that hasn’t made sense to me since he made moves in the summer that really didn’t address any of the teams holes..
January 10th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
There are so many things this team needs. Man….I’m really frustrated with Toronto sports. Kudos to Danny Ainge for finally giving up his rebuilding scheme and mortaging everything for Garnett and Allen.
Chuck Swirsky lost all credibility with me when he downplayed the Celtics.
I question how far this team can go with Chris Bosh as the anchor. I’m going to say this and I stand by it: the Raps will never win a championship if Chris Bosh is their franchise player. He just isn’t good enough. And you can’t expect much when you surround him with a bunch of role players, excluding Jose Calderon who is turning out to be solid.
Brian Colangelo was left with the disastrous ruins that Richard Peddie and Rob Babcock left him. He has done well to get us out of the gutter.
This team is pretty much destined for mediocrity and nothing more. They need another star….and unfortunately this might mean 4 or 5 seasons with Bosh and first round playoff exits until we start rebuilding again and get another first round draft selection.
saddens me. but there is more to life than the raptors thank god.
Brandon Roy would have been the answer we were looking for. Too bad.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Rod I hear your frustration. Look at two years ago. Didn’t even crack 40 wins. Go screwed for any value Carter would have gave us in a trade. The entire team has been rebuild except 1 person, Bosh. I’m patient. You might be frustrated because your a Leaf fan too. That’s a whole new stroy I won’t touch! I’ve learned to live with the Leafs. BC came over and had the Balls & business smarts to make something out of nothing. Tapping the Euro league. Getting Maurizio Gherardini- Legabasket Executive of the Year 2006 in Italy. Finding pices that fit well together as a whole. Finding Parker, Garbo, Calderon, Moon, grabbing Rasho, and Hump’s not bad either. Kapono 3 will go down once we are more clam on the court. Delfino grit & Defense not to mention his playoff Experience in Detroit. You can’t build Roma in a Day, but you can definaly make progress… I think BC is awesome at finding Dimonds in the rough. We just need a little more time and another star. I agree Bosh isn’t quite there yet. I also think once Andrea Bargnani find a confort level in this new Country and learns the Idiosyncrasies of the American game he’ll flourish. Just for god sake Andrea will you ‘MUNCH’ some people for us. We need toughness on this teams. Bunch of girls at times!
All in all things are a lot better. No lottery picks this year! So BC will have to make one more magic move this year. Please Brian! Please! You’ve almost got it. Another star! Please!
January 10th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
we wont get another star unless we trade one of tj or jose. if we do that, then the depth is shot out the window, as we all know, the bench is useless without jose anchoring them. which forces us to being an 8 person rotational team…my dream, but smitch can’t win in that sort of environment-unless his 8 are primo solid.
as far as bosh being the anchor, i agree we aren’t a championship team with him as the # 1, but definitely a 2nd round, maybe conference finals. i mean come on, he isn’t that bad……..is he? lol
January 10th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I’m not rippin’ Bosh. I thinks he’s awesome. Just young & inexperienced It’s a tough game in the Playoffs. Players get in your head. At least when you got a couple stars when one goes down the other can take over…. unless your LeBron James…. I was guilty of hackling him last game against Raptors too. Works on most players….I don’t think I’ll tell him to shoot the 3 Ball next time.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
He’s young but its his fifth year, and inexperience is not an excuse. Dwayne Wade carried Miami on his back in his third year. Besides, my skepticism of Bosh runs much deeper than his inexperience. Its a combination of talent and overall basketball IQ. He doesn’t have the post game, which under Mitchell he may never get, and he doesn’t have the rebounding skill of a Garnett or even a Boozer. The basketball IQ is what worries me and again, under Mitchell I doubt that it will improve. I will reserve final judgement after this years playoffs.
Oh and speaking of Garnett, he never had much success either until he was surrounded by legitimate stars. So, thinking in that vein, I am inclined to go a little easier on Bosh until he gets some consistent help from a legitimate second option.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
wade also carried them to the playoffs in his first year. you can’t blame mitchell for bosh’s overall basketball iq. you either have it, or you don’t. you can help a little bit, but not much. i think judging him after this season is acceptable. same thing happened to carter, he bombed his first season in the playoffs, then went off his second year. same bar for bosh.
mitchell should be able to help bosh with his post game though, at the minimum, you can teach those sorts of hard skills.
you are right about garnett not having much success until he was surrounded by better players, but if you remember, he was a still a beast on his own. bosh doesn’t have that same “beastness” ooze out of him like garnett does.
garnett also is twice the defender bosh is. can’t teach that shit either.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Wow, Five years already. Your right. But still nobody has really developed Bosh. First year…. “Hey skinny Chris… your Center. Oh.. by the way your starting. No pressure new guy.” He was forced to live under the rim, grabbing rebounds, and getting knocked around. Next year same thing. But we did get to draft Andre Iguodala……. oh wait…. we took…Rafael Araujo..damn! Bosh…once again is forced to stands under the basket & grab rebounds. Finally, the next year we got BC who dismantaled the team and rebuilt it for Bosh. Now Bosh has been working on his jump shot the past two years. Also, he has room to put the ball on the court because teams now have to guard other Raptors players. I thought Bosh was going to break out year last year, but he/team got too hyped and the dream fell apart. Bosh has flashes of excellence. Once he perfects the spin move (Quick & Decisive) he’ll serve many, many facials.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
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January 10th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
The best aspect of the game for me was DELFINO’s performance off the bench.
http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2008/01/nba-news-bench-power.html