The Morning After The Night Before, XXV

Hmm, the folks out there are restless. Very restless. Within an hour of the final buzzer, I got five e-mails from irate fans, who want Sam fired, a dude who wants to see his courtside seat license waived until Sam gets fired, a guy who wants Darrick Martin strung up from the rafters and, oh - here’s a change - a guy who wants Sam fired.

You’d think these guys were 10 games under .500 and forced to play Robert Archibald or Lonny Baxter because they had no one else; not a team that’s won five of seven and is in the middle of the pack in the East.

Oh, and the dude who wants Sam fired because “Sam cannot think through a line change” should stick to pucks. You've to precious little credibility.

Anyway, lots of grist for the mill, isn’t there?

Here’s some and there’s lots more, I’m sure. A bit more long-winded than normal but stick with me, there’s lots of actual basketball to talk about.

Three Things I Learned

Deconstruction time I

Travis Outlaw rebounds a LaMarcus Aldridge miss with, according to the official play-by-play I’m reading right now, 27.8 seconds left in a three-point game. The Toronto bench starts screaming “foul, foul, foul” but no one pays attention until almost 16 seconds run off the clock. Should they have fouled right away? Absolutely.

Let’s say they don’t and the Blazers are allowed to run the clock down for 22 of the 24 seconds before they shoot. Say Brandon Roy hoists a shot with 5.8 seconds left, it either goes in and the game’s over or it bounces off the rim up in the air and three more seconds run off the clock. That would leave 2.8 and the need to catch the ball, call timeout (another second maybe?) and then set up a play with 1.8 seconds to go.

Like their chances of making a three in that case? Nah, me neither.

I know Sam defended his players discussing it post-game but surely someone on the court should have realized time and score, fouled immediately and extended the game.

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Deconstruction time II

End of the third quarter, Toronto up seven, Chris Bosh has played 27 minutes and Jose Calderon has played 28 and both need a blow. Give ‘em one, right? Yeah. Especially with Portland's Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on the bench, too

Roy comes back with 3:28 gone and Toronto still up seven, Aldridge comes back 32 seconds later and Toronto still up seven. Before there’s another stoppage in play – when maybe they go back to Bosh and Calderon but they can’t – Martin misses a jumper, Aldridge scores, Kapono misses a jumper, Jarret Jack makes a three and it’s a two-point game. All of this is in the flow of the game, no whistles to get a sub in.

At the next whistle, after a Toronto turnover, Bosh and Calderon come back and Toronto’s still up two.

I can see Sam’s logic, I can see there was no stoppage in play from the time Aldridge came back – with Toronto up seven – and the time Bosh and Calderon got back with the Raptors still ahead. So what’s he supposed to do? Blow a timeout, knowing he’ll likely need them down the stretch to get two guys back in the game when his team’s still winning?

Sorry, that doesn’t make sense to me.

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The case against Jason

I know Jason Kapono has the quickest release of any Raptor in history who wasn’t Dell Curry and it’s a wonderful thing to watch.

You know what’s not so wonderful? Watching him quickly commit a foul – usually a silly one – within seconds of getting into every game. Last night it was 54 seconds after he got it when he did it, whacking Brandon Roy after Roy had made a layup he eventually turned into a three-point play.
We were discussing Kapono before the game and a guy who’d know says to me: “He can’t guard you,” and if he can’t guard a fat, old, slow sports writer, he’s in trouble.

But here’s the real point: In a close game down the stretch, unless it’s a must-foul situation where you know there’ll be whistle or when you’ve got enough timeouts left to do offence-defence substitutions, can he be on the court? Given his defensive liabilities, I’m not sure.

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Three Things You Wondered

Q: I heard PJ Brown (currently unemployed/retired) on Sirius NBA Radio (Wednesday) saying he might like to play again this year and was wondering if you thought Toronto might have any interest?

Mike D, Cambridge

A: If they don't, I think they should. P.J. Brown is a class act, a veteran who's been in big games and, by all accounts I've heard, a great locker room presence. I think the question is, would he have interest in Toronto? I'd imagine at this point in his life, he'd want to go to a team with a better chance of playing for a ring than the Raptors have.

Where that is, I'm not sure. I bet Boston's going to make a call, I presume Dallas would and he'd be a way better fit in Detroit, in my opinion, than Chris Webbber would.

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Q: How many times have we seen this: opponent player A is known as having a limited range on his jumper, yet Raptor player B crowds him which allows player A to get loose for a go at the basket, where he get a layup, a dunk or a foul.?

How many times have we seen this script, with Leo, time and again, explaining that "you don't need to stay up that close to player A." It happened again (Tuesday) with Moon against Maggette.

The coaching staff always seems to make the adjustments at halftime, but why aren't players instructed BEFORE the game? Why aren't adjustments made during timeouts?

Carlos Chalboub, Mississauga

A: I’ll answer your question with a question of my own.

What makes you think the coaches don’t tell players before the game to close out on good shooters, or lay off guys who only drive the ball?

Trust me, they do. The scouting reports are thorough, the tendencies of players are well known and everyone goes over everything at shootaround and pre-game. At some time, players have to be held accountable for not doing what the coaches want them to do.

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Q: Just wondering if you're ready to depart from the party line and admit that the Raps should have used their Number 1 pick last year to grab Brandon Roy. Bargnani has his moments, but Roy carries a team on his back every night. I think we'd be much further ahead with him.

Jim W, Victoria

A: No, actually I'm not close to saying that. A season and two months is not enough time., Sorry. Would they have won more than 47 games with Roy last year? Would they have more than 15 this year? All debatable.

Roy's a helluva player on an up and coming team, no doubt. He’s big, can handle the ball so he can get his own shot and he’s got that kind of “presence’” that the greats have. Bargnani? Right now, he sucks. Pure and simple.

But let's assess the draft again in a year. You may turn out to be right, or I might be right. That's the fun of waiting.

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Don't forget, tomorrow's a mailbag day, and there may be some blog items, too, since it's an off-day and time to reflect on what's gone on. Just click here to submit and question and keep refreshing the page 'cause you never know when something interesting my pop up.

Comments

[Egrrrl]

Why do the Raptors have such an insane online fanbase, anyway? It's very weird. After a win: 'CHAMPIONSHIP HERE WE COME!'. After a loss: 'FIRE EVERYONE, EVERYONE SUCKS'. And I swear, it's not just now - it's been like that for years, although lately it is getting worse. Constant hysterical overreactions in both directions. RealGM is completely unreadable nowadays.

Blogger's note: "Constant hysterical over-reaction?" "Isane on-line fan base?" Dude, or dudette, walk a mile of the information super-highway in my shoes some day. It's like a journey into, well, I'm not sure what. Maybe the Twilight Zone.
But the passion is fun and genuine and, every now and then, absolutely hilarious.

[Dan]

If you watch in the fourth while they were erasing the 7 point lead. Neither Jose or Bosh were at the scorers table for most of that time. Sam waited to long. At the 8 mintue mark they should have gone back in not 6 minute. Derrick Martin is not a guy you want running your team for half of the 4th quarter in a close game. Plus players can go cold sitting to long. Every coach and player say's take it one game at time so why not play your guy's so you can win that game instead of saving them for the next one. Andrea needs to step up too. Last night with the way he played and the way Aldrige and Roy played, he made Colangelo look like Babcock.

Blogger's note: If you, and everyone else who does it, are going to rip the guy, criticism carries an awful lot more weight if you can spell Darrick Martin's name correctly.
Just saying ...

[alex]

When Roy went in, Calderon should have went in!! When Aldridge went in Bosh should have. 9 minutes left in the fourth, up 7, time to put this baby away. D-mart's minutes should be the absolute minimum possible.

You could see it on Sam's face when he finally made the subs. He blew it.

And on being down three, I'd rather try to get the stop than take a chance an NBA'er is going to miss both free throws. Almost never happens. We have a ton of great 3 point shooters, 3-5 seconds is plenty to get one off. fouling sealed the game for the Blazers.

Blogger's note: It would probably have been much closer to two seconds but your decision might have worked.

[lennox]

why are all of my comments being flagged for spam? is it because i criticize bargnani? lol! ljc

Blogger's note: I'm not sure, this one isn't. Did you criticize me, perhaps? (That's a joke)

[Ian]

Living in rural MB, I have not had many chances to watch the Raptors in the last couple of years. Home for the holidays, I was able to watch last night's game, and was both thrilled and disappointed. The first three quarters were quite entertaining, worth staying up for. But as was mentioned in the post, as the 4th wore on and Bosh / Calderon sat on the bench, you had to wonder what Sam was thinking. And yes, I would agree that at this point, Roy seems to be a much more complete player than Bargnani will ever be, but it's too early to draw any conclusions. Still, once can only imagine a Bosh / Roy tandem. I believe they would have more than 15 wins at this point. Time will tell.

[Jake]

Two things I learned:

1) I think Jason Kapono put it best; a thought Chuck eminated over and over again...that crowd was a-hoppin' last night. And I think yes, it was pretty careless for 5 Raptors to not be aware of the time, but I think that the crowd should be attributed as much, if not, more than Sam. Besides, it's Sam's job to defend his players.

2) It's a little ridiculous to say that Brandon Roy should have been the Raptors choice...if we go back the last seven years, I can think of one player (the King himself) to win ROTY and go first overall in the draft. And there are some pretty impressive number one bigs in Dwight Howard and Yao Ming who did not win. Il Mago will come along. Give it some time.

[Reality]

I really like your blog. However, it would be nice of you to once in a while write about things as they are! STOP DEFENDING SAM! He left D-mart in there too long! It was wrong! I watch NBA games every day and I always see coaches take timeouts to get their best players back if the other team makes a run, especially in a close game! Just once, say the truth. Don't defend Sam on everything! Peace!

Blogger's note: You are entitled to your opinion, just as I am to mine. Perhaps you are right, perhaps you are wrong. But thanks for writing

[lulu]

Here is my two cents, Mitchell blew it. He should have done what he did against the Clippers. Let Bosh and Jose play; if they needed rest they should have created a 15 point lead and they could have gone to the bench with 3 mins left. Then you get D-mart to control the ball and kill time. You cannot let a team that gets hot in the fourth, get hot in the 4th. Isn't that Sam's fault?

Blogger's note: I believe getting a 15-point lead with three minutes to go is the goal of every team in every game.

[Jerry]

I think Mitchell is to blame. Bosh and Calderon should have played the final 10 to 8 minutes of the game. Mitchell ALWAYS keeps Bosh out too long in the fourth quarter. Yesterday, as a result, they lost the lead and Bosh and Calderon were cold when they returned to the floor. Game lost.

[Murray]

With all due respect (and you are due some Doug), Sam blew that game last night pure and simple. Every Raptor fan watching that game last night knew Calderon should have been back in there when Roy came back in with 8:32 left. Doesn't happen Martin chucks up an ugly miss. Another chance when Aldridge comes in to put both Calderon and Bosh in. Doesn't happen. Martin chucks up another ugly miss and...well you already wrote the rest. Game over. Man, I don't make those kind of mistakes in my kids 13 year old league. I can understand the frustration coming out when fans that put all kinds of time into supporting the team watch the team lose that way. Losing the game cause they were better is a lot easier to take than losing cause our coach is stupider (and normally I'm a Sam supporter).

[Tom]

You mentioned Doug, that a season and two months is not enough time to assess a player. I tend to agree with that assessment, but this begs a question, when is the right time? How long does one wait before declaring a bust?

Blogger's note: I don't know if there's an exact time. We all knew Araujo was a bust in four months. But we've also seen Bargnani be good for a season and now bad for two months so I'll give him until this time next season before any major declaration.
After all, he has been better for longer than he's been bad in the NBA.

[Robert]

Doug, coaches use time outs all the time to stop the other team from making a run and it was clear to me as a fan that Portland was making a run so Sam should have burned a timeout with 8 minutes to go to get Calderon and Bosh back in. By the time that Calderon (who had been hot shooting the ball) and Bosh returned, both were cold from sitting on the bench too long.

In the end both players only played 35 and 37 minutes - which is not enough. This was a win that the coach, who has done a very good job this year, let get away from the team after the team had controlled this game for almost 42 minutes.

Blogger's note: A run? It was five points. Up seven to up two.

[Andrew R]

I'm usually a staunch defender of Mitchell against these raving Smitch-haters, but last night he blew it.
1)He should have subbed in Calderone and Bosh when Roy and Aldridge came in.
2) He left Hump in there way too long.
3) For the stretch that Bosh and Jose were off the floor, the raps only go to play was Hump in the post, that was with Bargnani and Kapono on the floor. Then, even when Bosh and Jose came back, Hump was still left out there while Bargs and Moon sit on the bench.

[John M]

The majority of outspoken Raps fans have some insane tendencies. While the game is going good its all praise for everyone, save for the inevitable squabble of TJ vs. Calderon. Then if things turn bad its the same routine over and over. "Sam can't coach", "Why is D-mart(Darrick Martin) in", "AP sucks", "Delfino is a chucker", "Bargnani is a bigger bust than Kwame" and the list goes on. You would think this is a sports town that has had a dozen or so championships in the past couple decades, and we know that isn't the case. I blame the fans attitude on the arrival of BC, with his pedigree they immediately think that 1. we will win a ring very soon and 2. if we lose or someone has a bad game the sky is falling.

To answer the Roy v. Bargnani dispute its is far too early, like you said, to judge them. Bargnani is what we needed to get, and while he has regressed horribly he was still a bigger "need" pick than Roy. I trust Colangelo's judgement far more than the fanatics on a forum. I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about it, and given last nights showing some of it may be justified, but lets take a wait and see approach to this for now.

One more thing, yes Kapono couldn't guard you, but when he is on it's a beautiful thing.

[GM]

Ah, so much to comment on. First off, your rationalization of Sam's rationalization for why Jose and Bosh were on the bench for so long isn't so good. A 7-point lead? A whole 7 points?! That's nothing in the NBA. I, for one, have seen a 10-point lead with 1:05 left disappear (mind you, that was with the old Grizzlies). Still, a single-digit lead is nothing. Both Jose and Bosh have played longer minutes than that before. They can rest later.

Jason Kapono is the least athletic NBA player I've ever seen. I thought so before he was signed here. You, on the other hand, were going on about how he must be decent defensively if he played under Pat Riley. He was so effective on Miami because, like Damon Jones before him, Shaq was down low attracting double- and triple-teams. Kinda leaves a player wide open.

As for players being held accountable for playing aggressive defense on iffy outside shooters, again I think you're giving the coaching staff too much of a free pass. If a player isn't doing what he's told, the coaching staff should sit him down and remind him. Repeat if necessary. It also sounds like they want to have it both ways. If the player is backing off and his check hits a big shot (as even iffy shooters do on occassion), they'll get on the player for not playing tighter D.

[Kel]

as a blazer fan - i want to say that you guys have a great team and a lot of talent. love your shooters and how you break down the zone. fun team to watch.

entertaining game to watch. if you happen to come across Zac Randolf... foul him hard for us.

[Carlos C]

Doug, any chance Bargnani becomes an allstar or close to it? He can shoot with range, that everybody can agree on, but his list of weaknesses is staggering. How can you correct them all at once?

Let's see: a) can't rebound; b) slow on rotations; c) can't provide weak-side blocks; d) soft picks; e) no post moves; f) no crossover to change directions on drives; g) no spin moves; h) weak court vision; i) awkward footwork. There's probably more. Oh, and about his shooting. How does .382 sound to you?

What is the coaching staff thinking right now? Any insight is appreciated.

Blogger's note: The coaching staff is thinking what we all are. How can he play better? They work with him, teach him, tell him and now, frankly, it's up to him.
They think he can be good because he has been; they think it's time for him to show it again.

[Shrugz]

I wish people remembered that Roy was touted as the most NBA ready rookie of 2006, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he'd improve much more quickly than any of the other rookies and put up better numbers too especially with his expanded role on scoring (oden is out).

and aldridge is basically being put out there the same way bosh was put out there in the middle of his second year.

shouldn't be surprise that their rookies are putting up better numbers on consistent minutes

[Victor Page]

NBA teams get 3 timeouts in the fourth quarter (plus a 20 I believe). Whatever it is; it's many more than needed. Sam tried to pull the same nonsense the night before against the Clippers (sit Bosh and Calderon and hope the subs can maintain a lead). It only worked because the Clippers offense was exceptionally dysfunctional.

You just can't sit Bosh and Calderon at the same time. Without Bosh on the court, you need Calderon out there to create good looks for the secondary players. Without Calderon on the court, you need to give D-Mart an easy option (Bosh) because he sure as hell isn't capable of generating good looks on his own.

[Analog]

"Blow a timeout ... when his team’s still winning?" When the team is on the second of two back-to-back road games, with their lead being cut down to two points near the beginning of the final quarter – at that point I would say they were losing, not winning. Sam wasn't the only reason they lost that game, but he needs to take some of the blame.

[Zack]

So, what's this I hear about Rasho and Bargs for Gasol and Navarro?

Blogger's note: You're a day or two late; it's in the fertile imagination of a website writer.

[Dan]

I don't mean to rip on Darrick Martin. I was just stating the obvious, which is he is not suited to be a primary back up. Based on your article you wrote this morning the Raptors management might feel the same way. I spelt his name right this time. Just for you! I see your point though. If Darrick Martin were to say somthing bad about me in the paper I would at least want him to spell my name right.

[Michael T]

Deconstruction time II by the Doug the Idiot

What kind of idiot are you Doug? Its very well known you are a Mitchell fanboy. But now it's getting ridiculous. You look ridiculous.

SO based on your logic and apparently Sam according to you, a team should only take a timeout when it loses the lead? Basically, you are saying that if we have a 30pt lead and the opponent goes on a 25-0 run, we should never call a timeout because our team is still winning. Instead, call a timeout only when opponent goes on a 31-0 run. Right, you make a lot of sense.

Blogger's note: No, no, no, silly. With a 30-point lead, I'd call timeout after a 29-point run! Come on!
Thanks for writing, though

[lennox]

It's funny. Against the Phoenix Suns, Popovich kept Duncan out in the 4th as Phoenix was cutting into the lead.
I'm wondering if spurs fans was asking for pops to be fired. As Leo and Chuck were saying that Jose and Bosh needs to check into the game, Sam called for the 2 to sub in but you would have thought that a bench that has played so well and earned the trust of the coaches and fans would have held off the Blazers until a stoppage in play.
The fault of Sam is that he trusts his players probably a bit too much and especially Darrick Martin. His other problem is that this team needs better leaders on the court.
Sam is both the coach and the leader of the team. At times Bosh is too quiet. When T.J. is out, there is no one there to lead the team. Calderon is a very good pg. but he has to improve his leadership skills if he wants to be a successful pg in the NBA

[Shrugz]

For some reason I think even if toronto was 20-3 fans would be thinking about comparing TJ and jose, bargnani is a bust etc etc etc.
ahhh so much negativity so little time