Some Game 1 mail

Another bit of a change. We'll try to get to all the mail specific to the game as soon after as we can. There'll still be a generic mailbag for your other queries but this might be a nifty playoff-only bonus.

Q: Hey Doug, I imagine you have received a ton of emails regarding this so if you could clarify for us it would be great.
TJ said in his post-game that he didn't know Barngani was starting until the "starting" lineups were called.
Chris said in his postgame that they tried to "implement" to many new wrinkes to start the game when they should have just played the way they had played the entire season. Is the "wrinkle" Bargnani or were their new plays as well?

Rob V, Waterloo

A: When T.J. made that comment, we were all standing around and were, quite frankly, stunned. It was inconceivable to us that it could be true and, sure enough, about a minute later, he admitted they had practiced with the “big lineup” for a couple of days. Bargnani had earlier said he knew Friday he’d start. So I’m not sure what T.J. was talking about, quite frankly. Maybe he misunderstood the question.

And the tweaks on the plays Bosh was talking about weren’t very obvious to us and we didn’t get a chance to ask Sam because he’d already left before Bosh spoke. I didn’t notice what I thought was “horns down” call rather an a “horns up” set (two bigs down near the basket rather than at the elbow) and Bosh did seem to get the ball much further from the basket on the wing than he usually does.

Don’t worry, though, we’ll try to get more out of Sam today.

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Q: Watched the Raps lose to Orlando today. This team will be lucky to last for five games! The problems of this team are primarily defensive -poor perimeter defense, failure to contest 3's, soft interior defense. These aspects of the game are partly technique but mainly involve desire and attitude. Our players seem to lack both. Is this Sam's fault or are thes players just incapable of playing defense?
Two other questions I would like answered. Why did Sam leave T. J. on the floor so long in the third quarter when he was playing so poorly and why, oh why, do the Raps hardly ever send player after offensive rebounds? It seemed, in this game, that every time the Raps took a shot all 5 players immediately headed for the backcourt.

Gerry T, Brampton

A: The defensive problems have been around for months and were particularly noticeable yesterday because every breakdown was answered with a made three. If the Magic shoot 5-for-11 in the first quarter rather than 9-for-11 maybe those flaws aren’t as fatal, but they aren’t new.

On the Ford third quarter situation? It was the usual rotation, it wasn’t like Calderon was playing at an all-star level himself.

Here’s a rebounding thing: Let’s say they send a third guy (the two bigs usually go), let’s say the NBA’s best rebounder, a fella named Howard, is there. Let’s say Howard gets every imaginable rebound, fires a quick outlet pass and the Magic go off three- or four-on-two. Let’s say Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis spot up on the three-point line and drill transition jumpers like they were layups while the guys you want going to the offensive glass – guys who aren’t likely to get more than one in 10 rebounds with Howard there – are still getting back into the play.

Sending more guys to the offensive glass in this series is suicidal.

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Q: Watch the Raptors get man-handled by the Magic's superstar Dwight Howard, here’s a question. In a previous entry you said Bosh and Lewis is a bad match up for us. I know that defensively Lewis will make Bosh have to come out and leave the paint. However isn't having a smaller player on Bosh going to allow him to drive more and draw more fouls?

Chris S, Toronto

A: Bosh shot 13 free throws, I think he drove the ball well trying to take advantage of Lewis. What they have to do is find a way for Bosh to start closer to the basket to draw defenders and kick the ball.

Q: Hey Doug, I have tried in vain twice to get into your mailbag but I guess going to the same school that Araujo attended and sending you a link to a sweet article isn't good enough. Maybe my questions suck but no hard feelings. Did anyone expect Kapono to have the kind of game he had today? (even though we lost). I sure didn't! Can we expect it to happen again, or at least maybe another good game. Does anyone else have the chance to come out of nowhere and do the same thing? Maybe Moon? Or Gangsta? (J/K about that last one)

Blake H, Provo, Utah

A: No one saw Kapono’s game coming, that’s for sure. But the Magic do tend to leave shooters open so using him extensively turned out to be a pretty wise decision. And Kapono’s defensive rotations were pretty crisp, he’d duck in and try to lock up Howard when Howard rolled to the basket.

If Kapono keeps that up, there’s going to be a big role for him in the rest of the series.

The only other guy I can see coming up big out of nowhere is Delfino, who had one of his Bad Carlos games yesterday and is due for a Good Carlos outing.

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Q: Do you know if they are handing out playoff t-shirts for Game 3?

Kevin L, Toronto

A: I don’t know for sure, but it’d be a cool thing if they did.

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Q: Okay, so, when we cut it to 5 after Kapono (who I'm really beginning to believe would thrive under a different system) hits another 3, why did we not bring Bosh back in coming out of the timeout? Mitchell waits, they run the score back up and we can't recover. I don't really understand why he waited to bring back his best player onto the floor after that timeout in a 5-point ball game. I know he had 4 fouls but time was running out and I think you should have your best players on the floor trying to win you the game. This is the playoffs.

Marak B, Burlington

A: There were more than 10 minutes left after that Kapono basket and the time out you talk about came seven seconds later, which was too early to bring back Bosh with those four fouls. They got him in with 8:08 left after three Orlando baskets. That’s about right.

Comments

[Mingo-Jones]

Not bball related but might hit Rome and I want to check out that restaurant you and M Grange went to (as mentioned in a recent post).

Blogger's note: Man, I wish I could help you. I couldn't find it again with a GPS and a search warrant. Down the end of a dead-end street just off the Vatican sort of. I'll see if I can find a name

[Eric]

Doug,

Do you think that TJ Ford has become a big distraction for the team? Seeing him play these days, it doesn't seem like he has the same "oomph" and doesn't seem to care as much whether they win or lose. Almost like he's an outcast. The team doesn't really talk to him as much either, I noticed. Aside from Sam Mitchell, I can't remember the last time he was caught talking to anyone in the huddles. And it was the complete opposite before. It's like he knows he's the starter for the first and third quarters and that Jose is probably going to play the rest of the minutes, including down the stretch and he's now waiting to be traded.

The thought occurred to me a while back but now hearing that he was (might've been) kept out of the loop on Bargnani starting, I find myself thinking about it again. It's like this team is trying to win in spite of TJ Ford rather than with him. If that's true, does that not render it absolutely impossible for them to beat Orlando? Does the feeling around TJ Ford look the same to you as it did earlier in the season?

Blogger's note: I think you might be over-stating things. And I have no idea why he originally said what he said about Bargnani starting but he'd practiced for two straight days with Bargnani working with the first unit so he's was either blatantly misleading us, thinking we wouldn't immediately go check with someone else, or his misheard the question in a scrum.

[Nemesio Porras]

Hey Rap Fans: I dont like Sam Mitchell but he deserves a another chance. I think he is a very poor strategist. He also has failed to use Kapono effectively, and has dealt poorly with the point guard controversy that clearly has hurt the team. The bottom line is the team underperformed this season and it is likely headed to another early first-round playoff exit however, I think BC owes him an improved roster and the chance for another year as the Raptors coach. Besides, at this point firing Sam Mitchell would cost the Raptors a lot of money, since the next Rpators coach has to be some high profile coach who will demand at least the same money they re paying him. So, BC has to improve the roster first, get a Jefferson or Maggete type of player, add some robounding and trade Me Jay Ford, and then let Sam Mitchell coach the the team another year, and at that point another mediocre year or another first round playoff loss should mean the end for him in Toronto.

[bballer]

why doesn't bosh realize he is part of the problem? if the team didn't feel comfortable with the plays, why didn't they just wave it off and run the plays they are comfortable with? wouldn't jkidd, garnett or even kobe do the same as superstars? why didn't they mention that to smitch b4 the game? this is a sign of mental weakness with the team. i love this guy and bought bosh jerseys for my nieces and nephew, but bosh needs to step up and be a man. he needs to challenge himself and his teammates to play better like kobe, duncan or lebron would. is bosh more gasol than kg? a coach can through in all the plays they want, but every player has learnt to play d since from at least 12 years old. the raps need to man up and play how they were taught originally. you don't need a coach for that. man, garbajosa was more important than i even realized.

[bballer]

ps. finding a good restaurant in rome is like finding a maple leaf fan in toronto, they are all over the place. from, $3 shwarmas close to the vatican, $5 pizzas and $6 wines to top of the line meals you can't go wrong. it is crazy the amount of good restaurants one can find in rome.

[Christine]

DS: Heard on the news that Bargs is starting at the 3 spot again, why (besides match-up)?

Blogger's note: The matchup. That's why they did it in the first place and why they'll still do it tonight.

[CARLoS M.]

They sure seemed confused out there. Just like the last 40 games or so... I'm thinking about selling my tickets for game 3 & 4. Ugh.

Doug - If they fire Sam and hire another coach does that affect the Salary Cap, Luxury Tax, etc, etc?

Blogger's note: No, it doesn't.

[Louis]

Hi Doug, Thanks for being here and sticking around while RaptorLand is going insane. Although some of 'em may be aggravated about the play of the Raptors, we can all be glad that you don't have a 70's style mustache and name your blogs cheesy little rhymes like; "Dwight Howard had fun, but work to be done." Doug for MVBG. (Most Valuable Beat Grunt).

[Robert]

Inserting Bargnani in the starting lineup was not a bad strategy - except for the fact that the team never tried this lineup all season! Perhaps, Sam should have tried this lineup at some point during the season to give Bosh, Nesterovic and Bargnani a chance to play together.

[Robert]

Doug, it seems to me that guarding Turkoglu and Lewis at the 3-pt line is one of the biggest keys to this series. I was thinking that the Raptors should change it up and put Moon who is athletic and a shot blocker on Lewis and then have Bosh guard Turkoglu who is a little slower than Lewis. While the Magic may look to post-up Lewis on Moon, with Moon's athleticism and shot-blocking ability, I think the Raptors would be better off taking their chances with Lewis posting-up rather than having Turkoglu and Lewis go off from the perimeter. What are your thoughts on these matchups?

Blogger's note: It makes sense and you might see it a bit tonight.

[DS]

I guess TJ and Sam don't really care about what they say to the Star's grammatically-challenged blogger. Perhaps their minds were focused on making adjustments for the next game. Perhaps they were just thinking about their vacation plans for next month. In either case, you can understand why they don't give a rat's ass what Mr. Smith thinks (which, in turn, is why Mr. Smith rips on them regularly in his column and blog).

Re: out-coaching Sam ... telling your 7-foot monster to "go to the boards" and watching the refs allow said monster to goaltend several Raptor shots is not "good coaching". Neither is telling your players to shoot when wide open. Perhaps Van Gundy had his players better prepared for game one ... then again, perhaps Smitch just underestimated the ability of his millionaire professional basketbal players to carry out the instructions he and his staff gave out over the past month.

re: TJ/Jose ... neither was great, both have to be for us to win. Then again, neither can teach Bargnani how to shoot or Bosh how to perform under pressure.

[Brook]

"Why didn't Mitchel put Bosh back in when JK shaved the deicit to 5?" Because that happened when CB4 was on the sidleines -- Mitchel was likely hoping to ride the hot hands a little longer -- see if that rotation could bring it even. Hind-sight is 20-20, but there is no way Mitchel new the run would stop at 5 down.

Let's say he puts Bosh in and he gets a quick foul. We'd now be screaming for Mitchel's head saying he put Bosh in too early, right when things were clicking so well, and the quick fould ruined our groove.

[Pete Z]

"Sending more guys to the offensive glass in this series is suicidal." I agree with this statement for the reasons you outlined. However, like Gerry T wrote, I was under the impression that at times the Raptors were essentially sending NO ONE to the offensive board.

And it's not all about height either. One of the best rebounders in the history of the game, The Worm, "only" stood at 6 ft. 7. It's about positioning and "reading" the shot and subsequent rebound.

From a statistical perspective, the Magic actually had less offensive rebounds AND gave up more offensive rebounds than the Raptors this year!! The Raps are going to have to get closer the average of 11 ORBs allowed that the Magic averaged over the season in game 2.

[RJ]

what is wrong with bargnani's shooting. i ve never seen such a slump before in my life, he is shooting worse than Ben wallace... I feel that when bargnani hits his shots like last year ,,,he would be the perfect compliment to Bosh ...