Again?

Was this gonna be another blowout? The Raptors (8-11) limped into Cleveland (18-3) to play the Cavaliers, who have been on a tear lately, winning their last 8 games by an average of 15 pts. The Cavs were looking to win their 9^th straight game by 12+ points to be the first team in NBA history to do so. The Raps were looking to build on the good things they accomplished against Portland on Sunday in their heartbreaking 98-97 loss. Continue Reading

The 2008 Toronto Raptors:

So, here we are ¼ of the way into the season and I think its safe to say that I speak for everyone in Raptors Nation from the suits at MLSE to the bloggers at Raptors Republic- that the season to date has been a HUGE disappointment. At while Id like to be optimistic, at this point the facts suggest that as this team stands now, at the quarter mark of the season, this team is headed for a lot more losses than victories AND not only is my prediction of a 50 win season in serious jeopardy (it would require the Raptors to 42 and 21 from this point until the end of the season and win at a clip of .750) but the Raptors making the playoffs this season is NOW in serious jeopardy. Continue Reading

Friday Night saw the debut of Jay Triano as Interim Coach of the Toronto Raptors (8-9) as they rolled into Utah to play the 12-8 Jazz. The Jazz had lost two straight games at home (to NJ and Miami) and had not lost 3 in a row in Salt Lake City since April of 2007. The Jazz would have to play this game without Carlos Boozer, who is still reeling from a quad injury. The Raptors playing their last game of a 3-game western road trip and their first game since former coach Sam Mitchell was fired following a devastating loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Raps desperately wanted to finish their raod trip on a good note and not head back home 0-3 and minus one coach. Continue Reading

Turn out the lights, the parties over! Jay Triano started his coaching era with the Raptors Friday night with a game against the Jazz. To say it wasn’t a good start is an understatement. The Raptors came into the game after losing to the Lakers and the Nuggets and then losing Sam Mitchell as coach on Wednesday. After a short practice day Friday, the Raptors had to quickly regroup and play the Jazz without Carlos Boozer. Usually when a coach is replaced, the team responds with some passion or emotion or some sort of spark for the new coach for whatever reason, but usually the players will respond and step up their play for at least 1 game. As has become the norm with this group of Raptors, there was no passion to be found anywhere.

On a night when we found out what a big baby Glenn Davis really is after Kevin Garnett called him out for playing lousy defense while his Celtics were UP 25, we watched a team fall deeper into a pit of mediocrity. After an opening play dunk by Andrea Bargnani, the guys looked good moving the ball up the floor looking for the break a few times, but after getting a 10 – 5 lead, the Jazz ended the quarter on a 28 – 13 run. Deron Williams scored 10 in the quarter running past Jose Calderon at will. Mehmet Okur used every trick in his vast array of tools to school both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh from the inside out ending the game with 21 points in only 29 minutes of playing time. The Jazz early attacked the basket and found absolutely no defense being offered up by our inside guys at all. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham offered a little bit of resistance, but it was no where near enough to stop any of the Jazz players. Paul Millsap ended the night with 17, D-Will ended with 14, Andrei Kirilenko had 7 off the bench, Matt Harpring dropped 14 and added 7 boards, Kosta Koufos had 10 as the Jazz offered their consistently balanced attack to which the Raptors could offer NO defense at all.

To a man, the Raptors looked emotionally drained and showed no emotion as the Jazz just kept taking shots in the key all night long. Whether it was a layup, or 7 footer, the Raptors just stood there helpless. What I saw last night has little to do with coaching. First, the few highlights for the Raptors. Joey Graham continues to show he deserves more time on the floor with a solid game and 13 points and 5 rebounds. He picked up 4 fouls, but at least he was engaged defensively and showed some intensity. If he continues his improvement and can cut down the fouls, he should keep the pressure on to put him on the starting lineup soon. Roko Ukic seems to grow with each passing minute on the floor. He looked more composed and very comfortable on the court and his 7 points point to his improvement as he scored most on layups or breaks. His bringing an up tempo style to this team will be critical as we look to over haul the team from the top to the bottom. Will Solomon added 7 and seems to have begun to control the ball with only 1 turnover. I am not saying he is ready to play heavy minutes yet, but I think he knows what it is he needs to do to play at the NBA level.

As for the starters, well that is another story. Chris Bosh has probably heard the last of his MVP calls this season as he has developed a nasty habit of not playing defense at all. He is considered the leader of this team and if that is the case, he needs to leave it on the court every minute he is on the floor. He is NOT a 3 point shooter. His game is taking the ball to the hole and creating mismatches and causing defenses to over rotate on him and kick the ball out. He has lost confidence in his team mates like Jamario Moon and Jason Kapono who look lost at both ends of the floor and have given up playing on the defensive end all together. Jamario was a shot blocker when he entered the league and with his talent and overall athleticism, he should be a much more able defender, but he has stopped attacking the hoop and has begun to stand around the 3 point line hoping the ball comes to him. The problem is, teams leave him alone because they know he offers no real threat anywhere on the floor in a set offense. He looked much better when the tempo was pushed and as that becomes more a part of our offense, I hope to see him return to form as he can be a real asset to this squad running the floor.

Andrea Bargnani continued his solid play on defense and was truly the only real bright spot defensively with 4 blocks and 6 rebounds on a night when we got destroyed on the glass, again. We know he won’t have many 3 – 12 shooting nights so right now, I feel he is our most consistent player at both ends over all. Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon have decided that defense is no longer an aspect of the game they have any desire to contribute to and Jermaine O’Neal has become a sideshow on this team offering little on offense and not much on defense. IF he is hurt to that extent, then keep him off the floor and let the other guys figure out what to do without him. The problem is, he was brought here to provide that solution and he has not been able to perform at a level required to do so the past 3 weeks. The Raptors have struggled greatly since that Nets game and that horrible foul he suffered the injury on. Anthony Parker seems unable to defend anyone at this point and grabbed no rebounds and only 8 points against the Jazz. An over all terrible effort by him at both ends of the floor last night that can’t continue from here going forward.

So, what do we do now? Jay Triano and Bryan Colangelo have a huge amount of work to do with this team. It won’t be easy to fix without a major over haul and perhaps some player movements that won’t be popular. Right now, all of our resources were moved when we gave up Rasho Nasterovic and T.J. Ford to the Pacers for Jermaine. It is becoming clear that the plan has not and will not provide the solutions it was designed to bring. That leaves us very little resources to make any real trades with that don’t include what most would consider our “untouchables”. I will discuss this issue in my week in review to come later.

Technorati Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Andrei Kirilenko, Anthony Parker, Bryan Colangelo, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Glenn Davis, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jay Triano, Jermaine O’Neal, Joey Graham, Jose Calderon, Kevin Garnett, Kosta Koufos, Matt Harpring, Mehmet Okur, Paul Millsap, Sam Mitchell, Utah Jazz

You are running out of chips Mr. Colangelo OR Why Firing Sam Mitchell only buys the Raptors more time to make less moves.

I give Rob Babcock credit, he may have been a horrible GM, but at least he had the “cahones” to admit he made a mistake AND then set about fixing the problem immediately. One disaster ridden season after hiring Kevin O’Neil as the Raps head coach, Babcock fired him and admitted he hired the wrong guy. Less than 6 months later after he was proven wrong again in hiring Sam Mitchell (whom he hired to be “tough on Cater” and was rumored to have fought Carter in the dressing room) he sent Vince Carter to New Jersey in a trade that still makes Raptors fans cringe. The trade may not have been great, but at least Babcock was trying to fix his mistakes. He traded Rafer Alston to Houston for Mike James only 1 year into a 5 year contract, and even apologized publicly for drafting Rafeal Araujo. Mr. Colangelo its time for you to own up. Ya, that’s right, I said it. Continue Reading

We all know who the scapegoat is for BryCo’s inept decision making. Jay Triano will be taking over in an interim capacity. Will let you know more as this develops.

Technorati Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano, Sam Mitchell

Two days after defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, The Toronto Raptors (8-8) continued their 3-game road trip with a stop in the mile high city to play Chauncey Billups (11-3 since the trade), Carmelo Anthony, and the Denver Nuggets (12-6). The Raps were given the benefit of the services of Jermaine O’Neal, playing for the first time in three games. They would need him to have a big game to help combat the Nuggets. Too bad he, and the rest of the Raptors team, didn’t show up. Continue Reading

Rather than spend my weekly column discussing how the Raps looked impressive in wins against Charlotte and Atlanta (and not too bad for 3 quarters against the 14-1 league best Lakers without JO), or how Sam Mitchell not only reads my column but also does in fact own and use a clipboard (he pulled it out at every time out on Friday), or how Joey Graham and Andrea Bargnani together are looking like the answer to Raps problems on the wings, or how really, as I mentioned last week in my column there is no reason to panic (again, what matters more is whether or not this team is .500 come January)… Continue Reading

The Toronto Raptors (8-7) started a very difficult 3-game road trip tonight in Los Angeles, where they took on Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the Lakers (13-1). The Lakers are 8-1 at the Staples Center, while the Raps are 4-3 away from the ACC. The Raptors were given a huge blow with the subtraction of Jermaine O’Neal from the starting line-up, still suffering from an ankle injury sustained a week ago. The Raptors were hoping for big performances from Bargnani, Moon, and Joey Graham to keep this one competitive. They will need to pick up the load left with JO’s absence. Continue Reading

Next up for the Raptors on Sunday are the high-flying Los Angeles Lakers who bring a 13 – 1 record to the Staples Center. The Raptors are starting a short 3 game road trip and look to carry the momentum of two straight victories against the Bobcats and the Hawks to close out a home stand. The other games are against the Chauncey Billups led Nuggets in Denver and then against Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams and the Jazz at in Utah. Sunday night will be a very difficult game against one of the top 2 teams in the league. Continue Reading