Mitchell at the podium

How many times do you think Sam Mitchell worked on that last-second play the Mavericks ran last night? I mean as a player -- Mitchell, the workman forward with those Pacers, must've paced it off thousands of times, I reckon. It's the same bread-and-butter inbounds play his Indiana team used for years, running Reggie Miller along the baseline and up off a three-tree forest of screens to emerge at the top of the lane and either pull up or, as Jason Terry did, take a couple dribbles into range for the little runner. Just like they drew it up on the Indiana board.

And game over.

(UPDATE: YAYBasketball! has Mitchell up to Level 3's "exaggerated self-criticism" on the SM Madness Meter. Yay!)

Okay, Mitchell doesn't have the horses. But the Raptors have already lost enough games in this fashion -- they're oh-for-5 in games decided by five points or less, and that doesn't include the Boston and Phoenix games in which they hung in until wilting late -- to start laying some of the blame at his feet, instead of on his players.

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Does this look like a good matchup to you?

Here's last night's postgame alibis, mashed with lines from the play-by-play:

"How many games? Sacramento, Phoenix, Clippers -- we get a stop, (but) we don't get a rebound or possession when we gotta have it. Forget the last play. The game should never have come to that."

Okay. Forget about the last play. But the reluctance to substitute offence for defence and vice-versa down the stretch? Why no subs at all? Mitchell's last move came with 5:38 to go! He went with the same 5 for the final 5 1/2 minutes, including the defensively-challenged Calderon and Bonner and the overmatched Morris Peterson. 

"They missed a shot, () were scrambling, everybody under the basket, they get a rebound, (Nowitzki) runs to the 3-point line like he's supposed to. That's the game. If you know the game, that's the basketball game."

Yes, I remember that play. (I don't know the game, but I remember it.) That was where nobody picked up Dirk coming back. It came right after one of the Raptors' "plays" -- Bosh facing up his man, a couple of dribbles into traffic and then a turnover when Dampier arrived with the help defence. And it came right before the Mavs' next possession, where with minimal effort they got a Nowitzki vs Calderon mismatch in the post, Bonner's help defence not enough to stop him from the easy bucket.

"That's where you lose the game, and we've done that repeatedly."

Ah, finally an acknowledgement through that "we" that Mitchell is a part of this. Better late than never, that, and straight out of the Darrell Walker songbook. Actually, I didn't see the Sacramento game, but in Phoenix, I duly noted Bonner and Calderon being out there in the final minutes, waving at Steve Nash. Repeatedly is the word.

"We didn't get a loose ball when we had the opportunity. We get a stop, we're up six with the ball, and it's a chance for a different game. Getting on the floor, getting the ball."

Again, I don't know the game. But dealing with reality, instead of the what-ifs -- You're tied 91-91 with two seconds left. And Matt Bonner is still on the floor? He's done his job, popping out to hit a jumper with two seconds remaining, and well done. But he can't defend, either one-on-one or as help, and all you're doing on this play is defending. There's only two freaking seconds left.

"I don't know no drill for that. You just gotta react and go get the ball."

Perhaps there are some things going on behind the scenes that are preventing the likes of CV and Graham from getting floor time in these late-game situations -- or perhaps the coach has no confidence in those kids.

But here's what a coach has to do: Put his team in the best possible position to succeed. For whatever reason, it's not happening. And like Mitchell, I don't know no drill for that.

Comments

[SuburbanHockey]

Amen, brother, Amen. It's time to fire Mitchell for his awful coaching - and for his terrible grammar.

That's my new line now: "I don't know no drill for that." Priceless.

[Billy]

Excellent blob! This is what I wrote to Swirsky before I read your article:

My eyebrows were raised this morning when I read Sam's comment telling
people to forget the last play. It is true that the game didn't need
to come to that if the raps picked up a rebound here and there. However,
when the game was decided by two points, you can point to any one play
and say that was the difference.

This is the way I look at it. The players played hard against a top
notch NBA team and got to a tied game with 2 seconds left. These are the
situations where you tell the difference between a good coach and a not
so good coach. In my opinion, Mitchell was out coached by Avery. Both
of them are new coaches so experience is not an excuse here. Instead
of shouldering at least some responsibility, he told people to not look
at the last play. That disgusted me as a fan! Imagine what the
players are thinking when they read it in the papers.

In an ugly season like this, when is it time that Sam gets some heat.
He has done nothing of significance for this franchise. When he had
Carter, it was his job to motivate him. If it was easy, then he wouldn't
get paid so much, right?

[Tim Farrell]

First let me say that I love and appreciate Matt Bonner. But there is still NO REASON that he should have been on the floor in the final two seconds. Dallas even called a timeout! A perfect opportunity to bring in Charlie V., but no, Mitchell decides to "reward" Bonner for his game-tying jumper by hanging him out to dry in the final two seconds.

"Rewarding" players only works with a select group of superstars. It's the equivalent of coming out to the mound with the game on the line in the 8th inning, and just knowing, just seeing something in the pitcher's eyes, that tells you he's good for one more batter. You can afford to do this with the likes of a Randy Johnson. You can not afford to do it with just anyone.

I am reminded of a Jays game vs. the Red Sox late in the season. Granted, it meant nothing as the Jays were already out of contention. Josh Towers had been pitching a gem, until he got into a bit of a jam in the 8th with David Ortiz coming up. The lefty, Schoenweis, was ready in the 'pen. Gibby came out and decided, you know what, Towers has pitched masterfully until this point, I'm gonna leave him in. Well you can guess what happened next. The 30,000+ in attendance and the hundreds of thousands watching at home knew exactly what was about to happen. Ortiz CRUSHED a pitched to straightaway centre, sealing the game for the Sox.

The point is, just as Towers is not Randy Johnson, Matt Bonner is not Michael Jordan. No matter how well he had played to that point, the smart move down the stretch is to sub for the better defender. Period.

[cmills]

I said it before, I'll say it again, Mitchell is not the right fit for this team. His lineups are all wrong. He had Bonner and Calderon out for the last 2 seconds to defend, and we know defence is not either player's strong suit. He should have brought in Williams.
The Raptors are not that bad, talent-wise, but the coach is not getting the best out of the squad. I think they should give Sam until the all-star break to show if he can win some games with coaching. Otherwise, Rob should give Jay a shot.

[Wade Tomlin]

I completely agree with the summation of Sam Mitchell. This guys is a coward when it comes to owning up to his side of things. When you have a team full of kids a coach is suppose to do more than just whine like a kid when things don't work out.

Where was the substitutions? What type of plays where being called? Why are the Raptors so woeful out of time outs? News flash to Mitchell, that's your job to explain and improve, if you don't like it, to use a term Mitchell used last season, then quit.

[rs32]

Mitchell has shown no progress in his coaching ability. He came in with zero experience, and will be fired with zero experience. The raptors need a experienced, xs and os type of coach who understands the fundamentals of winning and NBA games. Offensive execution and defesive effort. Raptors are doing ok on the offensive side of the floor (although they still can run the pick and roll properly). And as for defending the pick and roll... well lets just say.. how does Calderon alwayed end up defending the PF or C with no weak side help.

[Andrew Deonarain]

The Raptors D is poor because of the lack of coaching, I mean everytime an opponent scores all they do is make 1 cut to the basket and it is an easy lay up (Devin Harris ate them up inside) The time is now to fire Sam and bring an experienced coach such as Paul Silas.

[ZAK]

I guess Sam is doing the best he can with this awful roster. I don't think we could have different results if we substitute
Bonner and Calderon for the last 2 seconds. Those sitting on the bench are not better defenders. The real killer of this franchise
is the person who traded Vince for NOTHING.

[Shaun L]

Sam Mitchell cannot coach. Anyone catch the Clippers game last week? We had CV and Calderon playing well, giving us an 8 point lead with five minutes to go, and Mitchell pulled them for Peterson and Rose. His substitutions make no sense. In that same game, we had a decent lead in the 4th, when suddenly the Clippers went into a 2-3 zone. We didn't score, or even get a decent attempt, in 3 straight trips before Mitchell called timeout. By that point, we'd lost the lead and the game. We need a coach with some idea of x's and o's.

[Tommy Walder]

Another example of Mitchell's incompetence...

VS the Clippers in the second half when Maggettte was starting to light it up. Joey was playing his heart out but he just couldn't stay with Maggette and the points were piling up.

Mitchell, in all his brilliance goes to the bench to bring in a fresh player to cover Maggette.

My buddy and I automatically say to each other it's Mopete time, but Mitchell brought in our worst perimeter defender , The Matador, Jalen rose instead.

The rest is history.

Game, set, match.

[doug]

I am so frustrated by Mitchell I can't even watch at times as I can make no sense of his moves, or non-moves.So if I am frustrated imagine what the players are thinking. Look I am tired of people talking about the Raptors lousy roster. If you know basketball they do not have a lousy roster, if they did they wouldn't even be competitive this is the NBA don't forget the best ball players in the world and the Raptors have been in most every game. But Sam did a terrible in-game coaching job against the Clippers, the Suns, and the Mavs. Unbelievable decisions...he reminds me of Carlos Tosca(ex-Jays manager) -- not a bad manager but no clue as to how to run a bullpen and Mitchell has no clue as to handling his bench.The way I look at it or measure a coaches ability is if they were fired tomorrow would other teams hire him and the Raptors have not had one legitimate coach from O'Neill, to Butch, to washed up Wilkens now this please give us a legit coach....

[Mike Trottier]

Everything in Mitchell's body lanmguage on the bench is saying "Don't blame me!" The hands rubbing the forehead, the long sighs, the rolling of the eyes to the heavens and the exasperated looks must really be discouraging for the younger players. He is clearly way out of his depth - an average player who has no clue how to teach or how to motivate. I can't believe how often Calderone ends up one-on-one on the weak side covering a 4 or a 5. Get rid of Mitchell now and bring in an experienced, calm, up beat coach who can instill some confidence in the young guys.

[Chuck Howitt]

After watching the Raptors on their recent road trip, I was encouraged even though they lost all their games. I can remember them going into LA last year to play the Clippers and never being in the game. This year they not only led for most of the game, but they looked like the better team. This team is clearly better than 1-15. The difference I think is the coach. Sam Mitchell just doesn't have enough experience. It's time for him to go. There must be someone around with more experience to take over this team, and I'm not talking about another Lenny Wilkins type. Look at what George Karl did for Denver last year.

[rs32]

1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73

Raptors are on pace to win..... 5 games.

If thats not a reason to clean house, I don't know what is. I think they would win more games playing the games with no coach at all. How can MLSE be content with this, the attendance is dropping faster than the weather outside. True fans are highly frustrated, and have lost all patience with this team and its coaching staff, not to mention the GM. Babs wants a 2 year plan? To do what in 2 years? If things are going to turn around, things have to change. The mind set of this team has to change, and in turn the coach has to be changed.

[CyberSteak]

Where in the world is the heat that Mitchell should be facing right now. The guy has no ability to coach such a young team. And honestly, he never was hired to do so. He was hired to coach a reluctant star and a bunch of vets. To somehow light a flame under them to make them compete. He didn't need to be a good coach just a motivator. The talents and experience of his players would make up for his shortcomings. But now it's a whole different team. A bunch of young inexperienced players that need to be taught how to play by a real NBA coach. And quite frankly, Mitchell doesn't have what it takes. I'm just STUNNED that the media isn't all over this.

[BrocasArea]

Time to promote A. English or have Keady run the show. If you're going with a rookie coach T.O has plenty to go around. These kids need structure.