How 'bout them changes?

There's perception and there's reality.

The perception is that T.J. is being rewarded for not playing well by getting starting job back tonight.

The reality is things weren't working and it's better to salvage this situation and deal with the ramifications in the summer.

But, first, I do have to say this move says more about Jose Calderon than it does about any of the other principles involved. I know the dude talks about only wanting what's best for the team and how winning is all that matters, if this doesn't show it, I don't know what else does.

Now, on to the moves.

Ford's obviously been bad as a backup and was good as a starter. He is more likely now to get other people involved in the offence -- if he doesn't Bosh might smack him if Sam doesn't -- and play what we remember as his "regular" game.

The Rasho-Bargnani move? Makes entire sense, Rasho's been playing out of his mind the last month or so -- he's got to be in the top half of post defenders in the NBA -- and we've seen Bargnani struggle if he doesn't make his first couple of shots.

Maybe playing backups, and getting more touches, will allow him to feel more comfortable more often. I still say they need a three-man bigs rotation of Bosh, Bargnani and Rasho in the post-season, guess it really doesn't matter who plays when because most nights, Bosh and Rasho are going to finish games because they provide the most balance offensively and defensively.

But this does not -- I repeat DOES NOT -- mean that I think Bargnani's a bum and they should ship him out in the summer. The kid's still got sublime, diverse skills, they just have to be seen more often. And I think they will. I'm not making a pronouncement on his suitability until at least the halfway point of next season.

Now, how about Jose-T.J. in the summer? Does this move have any impact on that?

I still now Colangelo is going to re-sign Calderon and because Calderon is really okay with this move, I don't see how he'd feel it a slight that would drive him away.

And, maybe -- MAYBE -- this will enhance T.J.'s value on the trade market if Colangelo's thinking about packaging him and someone else for the wing they so desperately need.

I still think, if he comes back with the right frame of mind in October, that Ford would be an excellent backup, able to change the tempo of the game. He hasn't shown it in the last few weeks, though, which is why this change  had to be made now.

I presume I'll be spending a good chunk of my afternoon posting comments. It'll keep me off the streets, I guess.

Comments

[Anthony]

I would have to agree with the moves because this is probably the best way "solve" our problems this year but what does this say about the rest of the players on the team. Is T.J.'s personality so dominant that no one can convince him to put his ego aside and play just play for the rest of the season? I'm not a T.J. hater but this really bothers me as a fan, as a professional he should try and change his circumstance by playing better/smarter not by whining and hurting the team dynamic until someone else has to sacrifice to keep him happy.
Doug, what are the rest of the players saying about the Jose/TJ switch?

Blogger's note: We found out after shootaround so we haven't had a chance to talk to anyone yet.

[tino]

Classy move be Jose',but also exposes Sam.If his players have to make changes to the line up to save the season,his credibility takes a beating that even by sending Andrea to the bench can't restore.It seems that he needs his gm or his players to clearly see the issues and solve them for him.Lots of pressure now on him and TJ to get same respect back personally and to the team.

[Nick]

I am sure BC knows that the team as presently constructed does not have a realistic chance at the championship. The best way to improve your team overall is to make a deal from an area of abundance, which in the Raps case is the Point. The level of play on display by Jose as well as the improvement he has shown since he arrived (from back up to All Star calibar Starter), I believe, make him another special piece to fit in along Bosh and so the logical move is to use TJ as bait to fill in the gaps (no disrespect to TJ, who has been great with Toronto and a great example of how to battle adversity). This move just feels like it was made with that in mind, with an eye towards the future as well as to try and salvage what is left for this year. Thoughts?

[Robert]

I'm a big Calderon fan and give him tons of credit for putting the team first. But, I must say that I really disagree with this decision. Calderon and Bosh have great chemistry and play a good 2 man game with the pick and roll. Also, Calderon plays well taking shots when Bosh is double teamed.

Doug, 2 questions:

1. Will Calderon still play significant minutes with Bosh? If not, I think Calderon's shooting game may suffer.
2. More important than starting, Doug who will finish off games in the 4th quarter. Calderon's management of the game is better than Ford so in in a close game - to avoid turnovers and to run set plays in the half court offense, in my opinion Calderon should be the PG. What are your thoughts?
3. Will TJ be traded in the summer? If not, can Calderon possibly be happy coming back as a backup?

Thanks.

Blogger's note: You know I can't answer those, right? We'll see tonight. And this summer

[AK (Richmond Hill)]

A couple of thoughts:

(a) TJ playing his "regular game", frankly, provides me with little comfort. His regular game is the same nonsense he's pulled in the last few weeks but on a smaller scale.

(b) What does it say about a guy who is not exactly going to be a HOF candidate that his team has to appease his ego and insert him back in the starting line-up and sacrifice a team leader in doing so.

(c) I hope Bargs takes this demotion with a grain of salt. Hopefully him going to the second unit with Jose will mitigate any shot to his confidence.

(d) Raise #8 to the rafters -- what a total class act.

[Stephen]

I don't give credit to Sam for the simple fact that it took Calderon offering to step into the backup role for the good of the team. Last time I checked, the coach is the one who is responsible for making lineup decisions. Sam failed in that respect as I'm sure he was thinking about this switch, but didn't have the balls to do it on his own, and it took Calderon to "make it happen" so to speak.
That is why I give Sam no credit. Having the final say in a no brainer decison that has been laid in front of you is hardly a cause for recognition.
I think Sam has as much growing up to do coachwise as TJ does playerwise.

[Jason Biggs]

I like the TJ move actually, Tj was burning it up when he was starting and so was calderon coming off the bench, just because he's starting doesn't mean he's going to play more minutes. Forderon is back:)

[Zaddups]

I have been watching this TJ/Calderon saga for the past two years and I can truly think Sam Mitchell could handle this situation alot better. Sam clearly cannot coach this year. I know there have been injuries but in a season in which we need real coaching...he has flopped royally. How could the team not muster one win over the latest western swing? I am still peeved at that trip.
As for Jose/Calderongate...
I also understand the politics though as TJ is under a big contract and Jose is not. I think once this summer comes and the Raps re-sign Jose...the team can then look to trade TJ to some sucker team needing a decent PG because you can't have two "number one point guards" on one team. The Raps have to pick the one they want to be the starter going forward. Jose Calderon...clearly is a better point guard in terms of getting the other 4 players in a rhythm to start a game. That is a key job of the PG. It's to get the team and the game started off on the right foot. When Jose is on the floor you can see that the body language of the players is very positive. They move without the ball and make harder cuts because they know they will probably get the ball in a spot where they can excel. When TJ is on the floor he constantly pounds the ball and really only looks to pass as a bailout when he cannot get his shot off. Please what's all this talk about his chemistry with Jason Kapono. Half the time when Kapono misses the look on TJ's face is like man "you just blew my assist". TJ's main problem is that he has "small man's disease". What is that you ask? Well being 5'10" or whatever he is...he has always been told that he can't do this or he isn't good enough or big enough. So now to prove that he is "the best" he tries to take guys on...and totally disregards the rest of the team. You know it's bad when Anthony Parker gets mad and calls him out. Look at the games when TJ plays against another elite PG like Steve Nash or Chris Paul or Tony Parker. He tries to outdo them by putting up crazy shots all over the place. The game against UTAH a week or so ago was a winnable game for the team. I think Sam should have went with TJ to start the 4th...because he was playing well and in a rhythm. That first 5-or-6 minutes by TJ was one of the worst if not worst I have ever seen from a starting PG. The Raps went from being tied going into the 4th to being down 20 and out of the game by the midway point of the third. The way TJ acted in that one should have told everyone if they haven't known this by now that TJ is NOT the PG to lead the team to higher places. He's just a glorified Mike James. No more...no less. Did you also see the look on Kobe's face when TJ tried to "dunk" on him? My goodness TJ did you think you were going to dunk on the best player in the game...especially since he has like 7-8 inches on you? Geez...how embarassing that was.
Now he whines his way back into the starting lineup and good ol' Jose show's his true character. What's going to happen in the next few games with TJ starting? The team will be down big time early and have to bring Jose back in to get back into the game. This has been a recurring theme in Raptor land with this platoon system...TJ screws up and Jose comes back to save the day. I think Jose as the starter next year and either Ukic or another true backup PG who knows his role is the solution next season.
As for the team in general. Again I think Sam blew it this year. They have Jamario Moon who should be slashing and slamming off back door alley-oops and cuts along the baseline and maybe even using him on the pick and roll to go the hoop...taking threes and pullups...and they have the best shooter in the league(maybe the world right now) trying to score on scoops and dribble drives to the hoop. Totally backlwards and against all sense of logic Why not start Kapono? Because right now Moon doesn't have the same bounce as when the season began. Put Kapono on the same side as Bosh and make him throw the entry pass to CB4. So the defence will have to either double Bosh or Kapono leaving one of them at an advantage to take their man one-one on. The Spurs do this with Ginobili and Duncan all the time. If they double with another player then someone else will be open. I think they should bring Moon off the bench and tell him he must drive to the hoop and either go to slam or look to kick it when he drives and the defence collapses. If I were coach I would tell Moon that if he doesn't drive he sits the pine and I would tell him that if he gets one or two charges a game...no problem and that just means he's being aggressive. Moon has to use his athleticism because teams are just laying off him and daring him to shoot. It's up to Sam and the coaching staff to make plays to take advantage of his athleticism. He's wide open beyond the arc because the other team's coaches are smart enough to realize that Sam won't make any adjustments to make Moon a threat to go to the basket. I know this team is very far from being championship contenders but they should not be in this funk right now. They are so unnagressive driving to the basket it hurts to watch them now. Especially down the stretch and especially on the road you must get to the free throw line by driving and putting the other team in foul trouble. For some reason this team is clueless on how to play true winning basketball and for that I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Sam Mitchell and the coaching staff. Also, Sam needs to be more humble and take the blame for the poor play of the team this season. I see other coaches in the league...especially ones with many more years of experience(see Pat Riley...Phil Jackson...Jeff Van Gundy) admit on many nights that "this loss was on me...I didn't prepare my team to win the ballgame". But strangely I have never heard this from Sam. Why is he so arrogant? Why can't he admit when he blows drawn up plays or substitution patterns etc? I think his arrogance is one of the reasons for the team's lack of success. I think as a coach sometimes you have to call the team out or a player or two out to make them play better. Maybe Sam doesn't yell and scream anymore so that he doesn't "lose" the locker room and players...and that way he keeps his job. I think he is a coward if that's why he refuses to call players out. Instead we get crappy excuses like "We didn't shoot the ball well...they shot the ball well...we got outrebounded...they were hot from three-point land...we played well but didn't get the win". Give me a break Sam...those are lame-a#$ excuses. I am not a hockey fan by any stretch of the imagination...but why does Paul Maurice get raked over the coals when the Leafs clearly suck this year and Sam gets a free pass. The media should be calling out Sam just the same. Too much sugarcoating the appalling play of this team for most of this season during games by the play-by-play and colour commentators as well. This team has regressed and that's a fact.
Peace.

Blogger's note: Whew!

[co]

Hi Doug,

Don't know if you got my email but this was exactly the question I sent you yesterday, switch up TJ and Jose ... I think it might just be what the doctor ordered.

[Andrew Tel.]

The raptors have to make a decision in the offseson, they have to keep one or the other. They cant have this problem again next year. Are they going to pay Calderon the same as TJ Ford next year? I dont think so, it would be crazy. Jose Calderon is a starter in the NBA and I cant believe he is being so accomodating for this cocky, selfish and inmature TJ Ford. Jose will also have a to take on less salary than what he deserves 5-6 millions per year because the Raptors already have TJ Ford making 8 millions per year. Maybe the plan is to have TJ play decent the rest of the way to increase his trade value. So I hope the Raptors end this soap opera and they either trade TJ Ford or let Jose go through a sign-and-trade and let the man be starter and earn the money he deserves because of his talent.

[Zaddups]

CAN YOU PLEASE POST MY COMMENTS: THX.

Blogger's note: Dude, chill. It was 16 minutes between the two times you sent the post. In a shocking development, I have other stuff to take care of besides watching this every second of the day.
I think I get to them pretty promptly as it is.

[Tim Jakes]

If Tj comes back averaging TJ like numbers 15 and 8 with a few turnovers and a high fg% then what, do you still go with calderon as the pg of the future?

[DanH]

Something just occurred to me...

As well as Rasho has played, I think Bargs moves to the bench to play with Calderon, not to make room for Rasho. Rasho's just filling his hole for the season...

The powers that be want Andrea to play with the PG of the future. Next year look for a starting lineup of Jose, Bargs, Bosh, Parker, and new wing player that can actually do stuff.

[Jayson Flemor]

Wow the Ford hate continues, Tj ford as a starter had better numbers than calderon as a starter, the raptors had a better record, who was playing the mega minutes last year that brought the raptors their first division title? Who is younger? exactly, trade Tj to the clippers and watch him average 17 and 7.

[James H.]

I don't really blame TJ at all, he's a starter being paid big money and he's only 24. Good pg's are hard to come by and you can't expect a point guard whose been starting his whole life, even from day one in the NBA to suddenly adjust to coming off the bench its not that easy.

[David Taylor]

Classy move on Calderon's part. I think that it would be great for both Ford & Kapono if they were part of a package that sent them to Portland in the offseason. I think that they'd thrive playing alongside two dominant big men in Aldridge and Oden, and Portland has enough assets to make a deal work.

[Alex]

awesome post zaddups. lol The part I could read I totally agreed with!

[Dallas]

Hi Doug,

You've taken a lot of crap last couple days ever since you commented about the Smitch article. God knows I've taken part. But I do appreciate the understanding you have of the rapid nature of the hard core Raps fans and the way you always rush to get us the goods. You definitely win the quantity battle. (I didn't mean for that as a back handed compliment either)

[Ret Jackson]

Watch as they destroy Detroit tonight. i have been waiting for this line-up change for about a month now and its finally here. Too bad Mr. Smith never posted my rant about putting T.J. back to the start. My official true Raptors starting line-up is: Ford, Parker, Kapono, Bosh, Nesterovic. Gotta get Moon out onto the 2nd unit.

[Johnathan S.]

Man, there is alot of ignorance being spewed in this thread. Seriously, I am ashamed to be a Raptors fan sometimes. The Raptors have been the softest team in the NBA for years now, they need guys like TJ Ford who want to be the man and believe they are better than anyone on the court. This guy comes back from an career threatening injury to risk being paralysed to play in front of you people and not even 2 weeks in he's getting booed. If you want to build a team around a bunch of "nice guys" who all get along and are all happy with their lot in life that's fine, but don't come pissing and moaning after every 2 game losing streak. Jose Calderon is an excellent point guard who is having a career year; TJ is a very good point guard with the potential to be a perennial all star buy hey, let's kick him out of town because it's taken him more than 3 weeks to re-adjust to a new role he was forced into by unlucky circumstances. Aside from Utah, Toronto fans are the most classless and ignorant in the league. It's one thing to be passionate, it's another to be loud and ignorant.

[Rick T]

Here's another way to look at the changes to the starting line-up. Instead of seeing it as rewarding Ford for his poor play and behaviour, it could be interpreted as correcting the previous mistake of Ford losing his job in the first place. I agree that Calderon deserved to be the starting point guard after Ford returned from injury to maintain continuity. But, whether we like it or not, there is the "unwritten rule" in sports that a player cannot lose their job because of injury. That’s what happened in this case and I believe that not much was made of this (by fans and the media). We all love Jose, but we should still look at things from Ford's perspective.

Hopefully this corrects what is wrong with the team. I believe that over the past two years, the team functioned better with Ford as the starter and Calderon running the second unit. I also think that this might correct some of the problems the team has been experiencing during the 4th quarter of close games. In spite of Calderon's excellent play this season, I have to admit that most of the Raptors' wins with Jose running the show came in blow-outs against weaker opponents (with the exception of a few games like the Boston victory). I don't know the exact stats, but this seems to be the perception that I get. However, down the stretch of tight games, opponents can focus more on Bosh since Calderon is not as much of a threat to create opportunities himself off the dribble. Assuming that TJ is able to play well enough to be on the floor during crunch time, I think that the Raptors' might be able to perform as well as they did last year in tight games.

[DougG]

I think the moves make sense. I also think Kapono or Graham should start. Kapono brings a three point weapon, currently missing at the SF position on the starting unit. With Rasho and Bosh there is already enough defense and the second unit could use Moon's defense. Maybe Bargs will come around if he is the goto guy on the second unit. He and Calderon will likely be the focus of the second unit's offense.

[Eric]

Doug,

I was wondering. Your view on TJ Ford seems to have soured of late. Earlier in the year you were pretty certain of his future not only as the starting point but as a/the leader of this team. Now it's not quite the same. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite. Is there any one event that has led to your changed feelings on this issue? I value your opinion because you cover the team daily, and your thoughts may be representative of the thoughts of others who follow/cover (even manage?) the team.

Thanks.

Blogger's note: I've got to run into a thing here and then back over the arena in half an hour or so, can I get to this tomorrow?
Thanks

[Robert]

Doug, doesn't this move create an imbalance in the 2 units. The starting unit goes from 3 three point shooters (in Calderon, Bargnani and Parker) to 1 (Parker). And now the 2nd unit has 4 three point shooters (Calderon, Bargnani, Kapono and Delfino). Doug, your thoughts?

Blogger's note: It does, as a matter of fact. But it should also mean more shot attempts for Bosh, or, egads! more slashing Moon?

[z]

oh man did i just see someone suggest putting Graham into the starting line up??? Doug you REALLY have to start screening these better....maybe Graham should start with Martin running the point HAH