The Morning After The Night Before, LV

Game starts about 7:10, maybe 7:12 and takes 2:12 so it’s over right around 9:24, maybe 9:26 and, I swear, there were 22 scathing e-mails in the inbox by 10 p.m. last night. You know what they were all about, T.J. and Sam, Sam and T.J., and the way last night’s fourth quarter unfolded.

I can’t run them all, most were simply rants and didn’t include questions but maybe what follows will help ease the considerable pain many of you feel.

But, no, no one’s getting fired and T.J. will be back in his regular role in Miami tonight. I know that’s not what a lot of you want to hear, but it’s the way it is.

On to the good stuff:

Three Things I Learned

Have at him

Lord knows there’s been enough unjustified criticism of T.J. Ford out there in the past, today, let ‘er rip.

The first nine shots of the fourth quarter in a close game? Man, that’s inexcusable. I had a feeling he was in one of his odd moods at the end of the second quarter when he dribbled in and out of traffic about three times, ignoring at least two open teammates behind the arc, and threw up that dopey prayer of a shot that went in.

Who knew that might be the high point of his night?

That fourth quarter was as odd a display of basketball as I’ve seen him ever put on. And I’m pretty sure even a diplomatic Sam (“We need him to score but he has to keep other guys involved, too.” Sam said as I typed watching TV post-game) is going to have a word with him about that kind of display.

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Where’s Rasho?

Fourth quarter, game’s getting out of hand, Howard’s going off and Sam leaves an absolutely over-matched Andrea Bargnani out there to guard him? That was a bad, bad gamble. It wasn’t like Bargnani was lighting it up at the other end or anything. And, early in the third quarter when Bargnani pump-faked and tried to draw the foul? That might have been the ugliest basketball move I’ve ever seen in an NBA game and I’ve watched this franchise of all 13 of its seasons, making me one of the world’s foremost experts on ugly basketball moves.

Talk about ‘stepping up’ in Bosh’s absence? Bargnani: 45 minutes, 4-19 from the field, 0-5 from three point range, 10 rebounds, no impact.

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What you didn’t see

And neither did I but a spy sitting courtside tells me during one timeout the Magaic mascot, a not particularly fearsome looking dragon, was goofing around near the Raptor bench.

Seems Primoz Brezec, for some reason known only to Primoz Brezec, took great umbrage at a stuffed animal having fun and slugged the thing. Then he tells him, ‘bleep you, I’ll bleep you up.’

Yeah, that’s ‘manning up’ like the best of ‘em, smacking a mascot

Bush league, if you ask me.

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Into the mailbag and let’s get this out of the way in a hurry

Q: Coach of the year calls a timeout to draw up a play for the last eight seconds of the half. Ends up in Humphries going 1 on 1 and putting up an air ball. Wow. Well at least they kept it close in the first halftime for them to get blown out, so I'll watch the Leafs. To think I was actually going to watch this game.

Grant C, Orangeville

A: This came in about two minutes into the second half, I wondered how long it would take. No, that’s not what the play was. Hump was supposed to hand the ball back off to Jose. Hope you enjoyed the Leaves.

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Now, for some good news.

If I’m Bryan Colangelo, and sadly I’m not, this summer is time to make the bold move. He’s got expiring contracts worth any combination of salary from about $2 million to $20 million and he can mix and match Rasho, Garbo, AP, Joey, Maceo and Moon however he sees fit.

I know a bit about how the GM thinks and he’s pouring over rosters finding an impact two or three from a team that might want to save some money long-term and he’s ready to wheel and deal.

So, here’s my list of guys he can, and should, go after. It’s not in any particular order.

Andres Nocioni, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Miller, Richard Jefferson, Boris Diaw, Andrei Kirilenko, Al Harrington, Jason Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith, Michael Redd.

What he’s got to do is find a team facing possible tax problems in a year or two – a team with a lot of young guys who’ll need to be paid at the same time – or a team that doesn’t quite work as it’s constructed.

Four situations jump out at me: Nocioni, Miller, Jefferson and Kirilenko.

Personally, of that group, I rank 'em Nocioni, Kirilenko, Jefferson Miller.

He can’t sell it as a purely present day basketball but if he tosses in a draft pick or two it might make it more palatable.

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Oh, right, here’s what they wrote in Orlando about the game last night and what they’ve written about the big contest in Miami this evening.

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It’s not just that they can’t defend twos and threes, they can’t score with them, either.

Did you know, and I’m sure some did, that on 14 occasions this year, a small forward or shooting guard has lit up the Raptors for 25 or more points in a game, eight times a guy’s gone off for 30-plus and one was over 40?

On the other hand, Toronto has never had a two or three get 30 in a game, only for times has anyone hit 25.

Brutal.

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We’ll end with two from the mail

Q: As a dedicated Raptors fan, I have a great deal of respect for Sam Mitchell as a coach.  However, there are aspects of his coaching philosophy that I do find fault in.  For example, I believe that he gives preference to certain players more, as in the situations with Bargnani and Moon.

I highly doubt that Bargnani would be starting on a consistent basis without the pointed push from the guys upstairs.  Bargnani seems to be constantly in Sam's perpetual "doghouse", along with the likes of Rasho and Joey.
So with this in mind I have two questions for you:

Is Sam more partial towards those players whose careers and work ethics mimic his own NBA experience as a player?

Do you think that Sam lets his personal player preferences dictate his sub choices in a negative way?

Stacey M, Winnipeg

A: I don’t think it’s a personal preference, although that comes into play subliminally with lots of coaches.

Bargnani gets a wee bit longer rope than most because they have so much invested in him, they have to give him time to get better and the only way that’s going to happen is to play.

Moon? I don’t get Moon these days, either. Unless Sam’s just got so little confidence in either Delfino or Kapono that he sees Moon as the lesser of two evils, it makes little sense to me that a starting lineup change hasn’t been made.

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Q: It seems to be etched in stone that the Raps won't get into a situation where they must pay the luxury tax. How many NBA teams are currently paying that tax? Is there a sound basketball basis for not signing players that force you to pay the tax or is it simply to save money for the paupers that run MLSE?

Eric E, Roslin

A: After checking my handy-dandy salary spreadsheet, I’ve got New York, Dallas, Denver, Cleveland, Miami, Boston, the Lakers, Portland and Phoenix paying tax this year.

The sound basketball reason is that if you look at that list, it doesn’t necessarily translate into success. Denver’s life and death to make the playoffs, so is Portland, New York and Miami are already thinking about next year, Cleveland’s hardly a world-beater and Phoenix has, um, issues. Dallas is old and not among the West favourites at the moment, that leaves the Lakers and Boston who could say they spent wisely.

Comments

[Mark]

Doug

Im sensing a little anger in your blog today. Could it be that you are just as big a fan as the rest of us?

[P.]

OK - 4th quarter - TJ = bad, very bad.

But if he passed to open guys on the perimeter, would they have even hit those shots? They weren't doing it all game.

Really, the entire team might as well have left the building after the 3rd quarter.

[Brad]

I know Doug you were saying that TJ's return and the Raptors recent woes, specifically Jose's struggles, are purely coincidence but its hard to believe. Its not even his on-court playing (which last night was strange at best, though he at least hit a couple shots) but his body language lately just looks like he doesn't care. Maybe he's just frustrated at himself, maybe he's frustrated coming off the bench, but actions like the 7 minute 1 on 5 and the shrug off on Bargnani coming to the bench seem like actions from a player that is unhappy or uncommitted to the team? I like TJ coming off the bench and think he normally does lift that 2nd unit, but something seems to be going on? And no one seems to either recognize it or address it?

[leigh]

I think the Raptors should be applauded this morning for being the most polite team in the league. When terrors such as Hedo Turkoglu or Mo Evans attacked the rim, the Raptors simply got out of the way and allowed them an easy uncontested passage to the basket. Who said chivalry is dead ?

[anton]

i echo the comment above doug, i can't recall you changing your stance on t.j. ford. yesterday's game was despicable!

[ET]

Well, something was really wrong with TJ last night. He didn’t play like this before his injury. He was totally under control. Last night was quite odd. Yes, he took lots of shots in the 4th quarter, but what about raptors defense in the 4th quarter? They didn’t stop Orlando at all. With TJ scoring (not the best way, but was still scoring), if they played half decent defense, the game would have been close. Very odd night for the raptors.

PS: Doug, Criticism of TJ and Sam? Calling out Bargnani’s poor play? Now that’s good journalism:-)

[tino]

It seems that the Raps are losing their identity as a team.By trying to match every team's different style of play,you'll lose your own:at one point you could have players going on their own (TJ),getting lost(JM),trying to find theirselfs(AB);add in the mix a mini slump by Jose' and CB4 out and losing is inevitable.As of Bargnani's "ugliest move ever",yes it was ugly,but on the positive side,it was the first time i saw Andrea trying to get fouled.Ugly yes, but it shows effort to add to his game.I can't say the same for Jamario, who is at the same level he was 2 months ago.Sam has given Kapono and Moon a chance to start,it's time to give Delfino a shot.Was'nt Andrea on Lewis playing decently enough to give him some minutes there?

[Joe]

Doug, how much longer would you give Bargnani before he is declared a wasted No. 1 pick? The guy is just lazy and doesn't care since he's making his millions. He needs to be ripped into by the players, coaches, management and you guys (media)! Also Colangelo has some questions to answer. What a waste of a pick when there was Aldrige, Roy, Gay.

Blogger's note: I'm not ready to throw the kid away, he is 22 and hasn't played two full seasons. Patience is, as they say, a virtue.

[Duncan]

Seeing AK 47 in a raptors jersey would be awsome....

[Dan]

That would be Great If the Raptors could get one of those wing players in the offseason. I think Jefferson would be a good fit because of the strong point guard play. Josh Smith could be amazing for the Raptors, again because of the pg's. I would be more inclined to take the stronger shooters because once some one becomes a Raptor they seem to fall in love with three's and long two's. Diaw and Harrington both have decebt post games which the Raptors lack. When they trade players I hope Parker stays. He is such a good player and is always contributing in some way.

[notfit]

Could someone please elaborate on TJ's "shrug off on Bargnani coming to the bench" that Brad mentioned a couple of posts above. I was reading fan comments on another website and a couple of people were commenting about how at the end of a timeout Bargnani was heading back to the bench. Apparently Bargnani was trying to take a seat when TJ intercepted him and motioned that he had to sit at the end of the bench, drawing laughter from some other Raps. I never noticed any of this and I was wondering if anyone who did had any thoughts they would share.

[Reality]

Doug, I want your comment on this. didn't sam go small yesterday also? that happened exactly after the timeout when TJ went 1 on 5. There was TJ and Jose together, AGAIN!

Blogger's note: Well, I listened to him after the game decrying his team's lack of scoring so two guys who can create their own shots (Calderon and Ford) could have been the reason.

[dan p]

I've been picturing Andres Nocioni in a Raps uniform all year. I've just been waiting for Doug to say something about it to legitimize it enough for discussion.
He's a perfect fit in my opinion. He provides some toughness, defence on the perimeter rebounding and scoring from the 3 spot. He is a bit 3 point happy but lets face it, on the Raptors thats not a detriment to the team, hitting threes is key to this offence. He's not necessarily a slasher but he's not afraid to go to the rip like some other Raptors SF's.

Also, he's from Argentina (obviously BC has a propensity for going after international players) and his national teammate will be here, which might make him happy.

I wonder if there is actually a chance of this happening. Can the Raptors actually put a package together that the struggling Bulls would take for him? Common BC, work some magic. Dazzle them with those italian suits.

[voislav]

Watching Ford yesterday really makes me wonder if this whole thing with Calderon starting is going to work out. He looked like a he was out to prove someone wrong. There is some stigma attached to coming off the bench in the NBA and I think that TJ beleives that he is ready be the starter again, especially since Jose has been struggling lately.
I wonder whether Jose's play might have been affected by the whole situation, he's been playing at an All-Star level and has really carried this team to where they are now. My guess is that this sort of stuff might spell trouble for TJ in the future, if he can't graciously accept coming off the bench it might poison his relationship with Sam and BC and might add him to the trade block.

[Terry Smith]

TJ Ford went 8 for 13, maybe Doug would like it if Bargs would shoot some more 25 footers or carlos more 3's

Blogger's note: It's not the 8-for-13 or the 20 points. It's taking nine shots in a row which leaves the other four guys standing around losing interest which translates into lax defensive effort as well. Point guards need to know who needs a shot when, how to get others involved and while T.J. can do that, he didn't last night and that's the complaint I had.

[James Drabinsky]

The Raptors need to trade T.J. Ford in the off-season. Colangelo should try to pull off a sign-and-trade deal in which the Hawks sign Josh Smith and trade him to the Raptors for a package of T.J. Ford, Garbajosa/Parker, and a draft pick. Josh Smith should sign a contract anywhere in the range of $8-11 million so the numbers would roughly work out. As much as it pains me to say this, "Forderon" is a thing of the past.

Blogger's note: Atlanta's got $14 million tied up in Mike Bibby next year, I think they're out of the point guard market for a while.

[Aaron Campbell]

Great point about not putting Rasho back in the game late.

[leigh]

I think part of the reason that Bargnani isn't too flash at the defensive end is that he probably lived off his smooth shot growing up in Italy and never really had to apply too much effort to his D. Do you think this could be part of it Doug ?

Blogger's note: A large part, yes.

[LS]

I personally had no problem with TJ Ford taking all those shots. The offense was doing nothing all game up to that point and the only reason the game was close was because the Magic were playing down to the level of the Raptors for 3 quarters. Ford's turnovers however were ugly and many completely unforced. That's the only problem I had with his game last night.

With the way the Raptors roster currently looks, when Bosh is out the most talented scorers left are the 2 point guards and Parker. Having your point guard carry the load offensively may not be a preferable scenario but that's how it is with the current Raptors roster. In fact I'd like to see both Ford and Calderon be more aggressive looking for their own offense like Calderon was in the late 2nd quarter and Ford was in the 4th quarter. A point guard's job isn't to just pass 100% of the time. If they can exploit matchups and/or somehow are the most effective scorers on the team, they should be looking to do that more.

The game lost was when the Magic finally decided to start playing like the Magic (Howard dominating) and Humphries and Bargnani being left out to guard Howard for several possessions in the 4th while Rasho sat on the bench.

[Mike]

Terry Smith:TJ Ford went 8 for 13, maybe Doug would like it if Bargs would shoot some more 25 footers or carlos more 3's

Great he made 8 field goals that's one more than his 7 turnovers.
And there were at least five or six possessions were not another single Raptor touched the ball on offense. I have seen point guards freeze out another player on their team (usually for personal reasons) but I have never seen a point guard freeze out his whole team and for like an 8 minutue stretch. I can't believe Sam let him stay out there for 3 posessions never mind like 9 minutes. Unaccfeptable for T.J. but even more unacceptable from Sam if you ask me.

[Dinosty]

I don't get your "bush league" comment about Primoz...explain.

Was it that he was horsing around during the game? Or that he feels so obliged to be our 'enforcer' that he's beating up on mascots? Either way, he's the first Raptor since Oakley to get physical with the other team.

Blogger's note: He got physical with a stuffed animal. for God's sake, it's not like a hard foul on Dwight Howard. Come on. Punking a mascot? Yeah, really tough.

[Chi of Steel]

TJ's turnovers were awful, and part of the reason was because he wouldn't let go of the ball (ie wanting to create his own shot). The two are not mutually exclusive.

The other problem with his shot-happy 4th quarter was that most of his shots were with no Raptors under the hoop. It's great when he makes them, but unless he's perfect, the defensive boards = transitional basketball for the Magic = easy layups/dunks given up.

We might as well have had the other 4 Raptors stay on D because TJ certainly did need them on the offensive end.

[Sorin]

For Dan's quote
"When they trade players I hope Parker stays. He is such a good player and is always contributing in some way."

Well, Dan, I think even though you're so right, you've posted in the wrong blog...
In this blog...and paper in general...AP doesn't exist except as part of a package for trade options...AP's the first one to be "upgraded", shipped as soon as possible, and mainly because he brings no effort, no productivity, no defence, no leadership, he's taking all the bad shots possible, is playing constantly 1 against 5 basketball, does not pass the ball to an open guy...in a word he's an '05 AND '06 Euroleague MVP who's a bust and actually THE main reason that Raptors are performing so poorely.

Just as an example after the Indy game:
"Offensively, the Raptors looked lost without Bosh as their anchor. There was no ball movement at all, Andrea Bargnani single-handedly tried to shoot the Raptors in the game but his 25-shot, 27-point night was an exercise in futility."
My memory - and stat sheet - shows AP going for 25pt on 11-14 shooting....but that's not something you would see mentioned in here.

Blogger's note: Wow, one paragraph out of, what, 50 game stories and probably 75 or 85 off-day stories. Very selective of you. But thanks for reading.

[Arif]

Doug,

I liked your swingman list. I was just thinking if it wasn't for the fact he's a total psycho, Ron Artest would be the perfect complement at SF to the Raps' soft frontcourt. He can rebound, plays great D, and likes to post up.

Blogger's note: "If it wasn't for the fact he's a total psycho" pretty much sums it up. And imagine what he'd be like with the security of a long-term contract.

[J dog in the hizzy]

Give Brezec a break, man, sounds like he's got an eccentirc sense of humour....prob just goofing around as opposed to assaulting a mascot who could be female for all we know.