Yes, we're still going

So here’s the deal.

I think we can keep this going Monday-Friday, at least throughout the rest of the playoffs. Not sure there’ll be a lot of stuff every day and we might end up spreading mail in throughout the week but what the heck, you folks have asked and we should try to deliver.

So keep clicking so the bosses stay aware that this thing’s pretty good.

Thanks

Now, had a couple of requests for a “report card” on the players, coaches and season. I generally don’t like them – they are far too subjective – but what the heck. I’ll put grades on but they will be based on a player’s ability, not against the rest of the league. A ‘C’ is an average year for that player. Let the arguments begin.

T.J. Ford

Guy missed 31 games and the best one he played was night he got hurt in Atlanta. Oh, what might have been.

C

Anthony Parker

Almost exactly the same averages (12.5-12.4, 4.1-3.9) as a year ago for Mr. Consistency. He brings same effort every night.

C

Jamario Moon

They asked an awful lot of a rookie and for the most part he delivered. Led the team in deflections, which is a stat the coaches love.

B

Chris Bosh

Rebounding numbers were down (8.7-10.7) but field goal percentage practically the same and here’s something: He was the third-best fourth-best three-point shooter on the team (40.0)

C

Andrea Bargnani

Was supposed to make his NBA chops as a shooter and then his shot left him in a woeful second second. Still, he is 22 and has lot of time to grow.

D

Rasho Nesterovic

No, I have no idea where they would have been without him in the second half of the season.

B

Jose Calderon

Made himself a lot of money, and likely earned himself next year’s starting assignment with a fine season. Needs to improve defensively.

B

Carlos Delfino

If Parker was Mr. Consistent, he was Mr. Inconsistent but when he was going good, he was all over the stat sheet. Tough off-season call.

C

Jason Kapono

Part him, part coaching, part scheme but he was a non-factor in the regular season. Playoffs provided hope.

D

Kris Humphries

Fell out of favour because he tried to do too much, as he always does. Also hurt by the emergence of Nesterovic.

C

Joey Graham

Guy’s had all the chances he’s going to get here. And has never, ever seized the moment.

D

Maceo Baston

Hardly an impact free agent signing.

C

Jorge Garbajosa

Oh, what might have been.

Incomplete.

Primoz Brezec

Oh, what never will be.

Incomplete.

Sam Mitchell

Did he have his best year? No, not by a long shot. Some of Bargnani’s failings are on him, as he admits, but he didn’t have a Celtic-like roster to work with.

C

Bryan Colangelo

Moon was  a great find, Kapono wasn’t the greatest of acquisitions but when he went out to make trades, it’s not as if he had a wealth of riches to do deal.

C

So there you have it, a bunch of average guys who had average years. Anyone really surprised they finished 41-41?

-

Not a lot of you know Jim LaBumbard and his merry band of media relations types but writers and broadcasters sure do. So it came as no surprise the Jim And His Peeps (Jamie Deans and Roven Yau specifically although Declan The Intern and Before Him Stephanie were on the team at times, too) were named the media relations staff of the year in voting by the Professional Basketball Writers’ Association.

The award’s only been around for two years and for them to win it is quite the feather in the cap.

In this era where too many teams employ Media Relations Obstructionists, finding a group that’s fair, willing to help and willing to go to bat for the writers is refreshing.

-

So, since I’ve got some time on my hands these days, actually got to lay on the couch last night and watch basketball. And I can just say that if the Washington Wizards weren’t such dopes that they riled up LeBron in those first few games by being knuckleheads with their comments and goons with their fouls, they’d be winning that series rather than clinging to life.

LeBron’s supporting cast is average, at best, and the Wizards have no one to blame but themselves for the predicament they’re in.

Oh, and does anyone still in the playoffs woof more than James Posey?

-

Let’s get a mailbag query, and we’ll have the usual Friday mail tomorrow, too:

Q: Hi Doug, what do you know about the players' exit interviews? Who's involved (any coaches or agents)? How long do they last?
We obviously know what's discussed in TJ's interview, but what do they spend the majority of the time talking about with the others, the past season or next season? Do they offer specifics on what skills to work on in the summer?

Michael K, Toronto

A: Not sure what the reference is to T.J. so I’ll let that pass.

The interviews take 10, 20 minutes, are with the coaching staff, Bryan and the player, no agents allowed. They go over things the team wants them to work on over the summer, a summer schedule and they just chat about what’s gone on. Players also get checked over by the team’s medical staff to make sure they’re all right heading off to their homes.

-

So, Avery Johnson is out in Dallas, there’s rampant speculation that Mike D’Antoni’s done in Phoenix, there is some questions about P.J. Carlesimo in Seattle, Chicago’s still looking for a coach and so is New York. Did I miss anyone? Oh, I probably wouldn’t want to be Flip Saunders if the Sixers some how eliminate the Pistons. And who knows what those wacky people down in Atlanta might do.

What did I mention the other day about Best Off-Season Ever? Looks like it’s not only players who’ll be moving around.

One question though: How did Avery Johnson and Mike D’Antoni get to be such bad coaches? Oh, wait. They had owners meddling in humongous mid-season trades. Too bad you can’t fire owners.

Comments

[Eric]

Worst rankings ever. Seriously, did you even watch a game this season?

[Matt]

Eric, I don't see your rankings? Doug, good stuff, but I disagree with Delfino and Bosh's ratings....maybe swap those two - can't really say Delfino had a better year than Bosh?

[Kevin]

Bosh can't be the third best three point shooter on the team. Kapono, Calderon, and Parker all shot better percentages than him.

Blogger's note: Sorry, fourth, my bad
Will change

[Kevin]

With regards to the Johnson/D'Antoni situation, I don't know if anybody is saying they are bad coaches. I mean, if D'Antoni loses his job he's going to be snatched up by any number of teams. In fact, I think that D'Antoni could be the first coach I've seen benefit from dismissal talk, he could extricate himself from an organization that he's not feeling support from and earn himself more cash coaching another team in a style he enjoys coaching and believes in.

Johnson is a fine coach, his record speaks to that, but I do think he might need to relax the reins a bit. I kind of see him being a good fit in Chicago, a lot of young talent that should be able to excel defensively (again) and could use the structure that his coaching provides. My only question would be that he could be too similar to Skiles and many of those players could be sick of that.

I do agree that owners should probably stay out of the deal making business...but in the end it is their money, and I'll take an owner that's willing to spend to win than one that only wants a profit anyday.

[Serge Papineau]

Say what you will about Mark Cuban but I'd much rather have him owning the Raps than the tools at MLSE. Cuban is passionate about winning (and willing to spend the money to do it) while MLSE is passionate about fatening their wallets.

[Saadles]

"Meddling owners", sure. But Avery was pretty much fired the day he benched Kidd for the last 35 seconds and essentially overcoached himself and according to reports from other news sources, it was D'Antoni who wanted Shaq and convinced Steve Kerr to role the dice on him.

[Pete Z]

Before more simpletons like Eric start bombing you with "your rankings suck" comments, I want to reiterate Doug's basis for these rankings: "A ‘C’ is an average year for that player." Meaning a B is an above average year and a D is a below-average year.

Based on that, I think you got most of the rankings spot on. Though a + or - here or there would not have hurt.

For the record, my rankings:
TJ: C- (C for his play but I throw in the - for all the off-court distractions)
AP: C (steady eddy, this is a "good" C though)
Moon: B
Bosh: B- (one man can only do so much)
Bargnani: D (D for disappointing)
Rasho: B
Calderon: B+
Delfino: C (inconsistency is a concern, true, but I think we have to re-sign him)
Kapono: C (D during the reg. season, B during the post-season)
Hump: C-
Joey: F
Maceo: incomplete
Jorge: incomplete
Primoz: incomplete
Smitch: C-
BC: C- (can't fault him for the injuries, TJ-vs-Jose stuff, but we have a clear weakness on the boards that has to be resolved in the summer)

cheers

[Dave Fritz, Kingston]

Given the criteria you set out, Doug, your grades look pretty spot on. I'd guess that most complaints will really be about criteria (can you say MVP?) rather than the actual grades.

[RF]

I know that Sam is the head coach but what about the ratings of the assistant coaches. It seems to me that the changes made this year to this supporting cast may have attributed to this year's results as well.

Did they miss that shooting coach that they let go?

Blogger's note: The assistants do the majority of their work in practice and we don't see practice so I don't feel right grading them.
And, no, they didn't miss Dave Hopla, an opinion that I'm sure isn't shared in some quarters.

I was the among those fans who was all over P Vescey for his irresponsible reporting (and you should have seen his e-mail responses to some of those fans - vulgar) but the story below seems to have some teeth. I do like Sam but you have to be on the same page with your GM otherwise everyone loses (see Mike D'Antoni)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtgC29oxmN0ZvZyenohzrfa8vLYF?slug=aw-dalnor043008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Ted S]

Loved the report card, Doug. Would love to see a mid-season one too. A little harsh on Bosh. I was thinking a "B". He's asked to do so(too)much.

I'd add:

Maurizio Gherardini: discoverer an Italian phenom, gets him signed to an extension, but does he have any personal stake in his lack of development.

D-

Chuck Swirsky: his class act is wearing thin, responsible for the mute button breaking on my remote.

D

Doug Smith: made the second half of the season bearable despite his initial defence of the team's talent and performance

B+

Blogees: Awesome. Enjoyed the banter, rants, questions and corrections. Until November.

A

I'm looking forward to significant changes. Not just the bottom seven being "tweaked". Benches don't win championships - or divisions for that matter. I expect seven new faces and at least two new starters. Seems to me that this isn't a time for I told you so's but rather a time for accountability, reflection and action. As Doug stated after the last loss in Orlando, on any measure this team has underperformed.

[voislav]

It's going to be an interesting summer, a lot of teams looking to retool and dumb some of the large contracts of their payrolls. I think that real improvement for this roster is going to come through trades, mid-level exception is not likely to get the quality this team needs. Here is hoping that Bryan can work some magic in the summer.

[Gerald]

Eric, did you even read the blog entry? The ratings are based on the ability of THAT player.

Bosh is a difficult one, in that he was able to demonstrate that he COULD have the enormous high-40's volume-scoring game when needed. That is counterbalanced against his noticeably reduced rebounding numbers and a somewhat reduced or inconsistent defensive presence (something that is rarely discussed here or elsewhere). I might have gone C+ for him, but that is quibbling.

For Calderon, I would have been at A-. He really made a leap in his offensive game.

For Parker, I might have been at C-. I thought he got exposed defensively this year, and perhaps may have lost a bit in that area. I always find it funny how many online Raps fans will continue to spout Received Wisdom about certain things, like "the Raps need better perimeter defence", or "the Raps are a horrible defensive team", yet also spout contradictory things like "Parker is a solid defender". My own theory is that many fans simply regurgitate opinions that they have heard or read, without applying their own critical thinking process (which for many fans may be absent, given the paucity of basketball knowledge among many Rap fans).

[G2]

Hi Doug, thanks for your ratings, that will give readers plenty to think about. I agree with all your ratings except Bosh, that gave me pause.

As an all star, that makes Bosh an average all star?

[Allister]

C'mon Doug, it wasn't Kapono's fault. Who wouldn't want the league's best shooter on their team? PGs are supposed to set up shots for specialists like him, and they didn't. The playoffs showed what he can do. This being the Raps, they'll probably trade him and he'll average 15 points somewhere else.

[Adam G]

That's a good point regarding owners making big moves making coaches look bad.

[Steven]

Great blog, Doug. Just wanted to point out that it's "got to lie on," not "got to lay on."

[Ellie]

Bosh a 'C'?!? Matt's right. You can't equate him with Delfino -- they would be well-below .500 without Bosh's contributions. (The dude is an all-star, ya' know.)

Parker helped Nesterovic carry the team on his back during that west-coast swing. When they're settling for jump shots, it's often Parker who makes the effort to drive. Deserves at least a B- in my books.

Blogger's note: The dude is an all-star, and likely will be for years to come, but -- measured against himself -- I believe he had an average year. Hence a 'C'

[gabriel a]

in his address to the media, chris bosh slighted ever so subtly Sam Mitchell by saying " we can't always just say that guys made shots, if we played better defence, they wouldn't make those shots". If Bosh thinks there should be a change in coaching or approach, or if any other top player has a similar feeling, is there a format where players have direct face time with management rather than management+coach?

Blogger's note: Holy extrapolation, Batman! If players had concerns, they'd go to the coaches with them, or the GM, that's not the case here.

[Dagomar Degroot]

Interesting rankings!

A rather strange way of grading the players. Yes, when Ford was on the court he generally played as well as he normally has and hence deserves a C (at least, if you leave out that month or so when he returned from injury). But this has been a dreadful year for T.J., so it's hard to justify a relatively average grade. Perhaps a different grading system would have been useful?

Also, hard not to give Jose an A when this year represented by far the most successful of his career.

Kudos on pointing out Bosh's decline in rebounding and need to improve his defense. Any reason you can point to for the dip in Bosh's rebounds, other than lack of conditioning after injury, or perhaps Bargnani's new role?

Blogger's note: Lack of conditioning early in the season was an issue, so was the time it took him to get back into full game shape after the time away with the knee. And with few others helping him on the boards, teams could pay even more attention to him and that would be part of it, too.

[Dan]

Unless i'm reading wrong Delfino and Bosh both got a C so you can swap them all you want but it won't change their grade.
I'm looking forward to see what changes happen this off season. BC did a good job of going from terrible to mediorce. Now he needs to take the next step. This past year both Orlando and the Celtics jumped past the Raptors. and the Hawks and 76er's look like they will be ahead next year if the team stays the same. I'm interested to see how good he can make this team without having a superstar quality pg. His best teams in Pheonix were led by Kidd and Nash in their prime. I'm not sure if he was the Gm for when they had Barkley but even then they had Kevin Johnson.

[Eric]

Doug,

Your support of Sam is nice and all but how can you look past the fact that this team of individuals, with the exception of Calderon, is not developing or improving regardless of age? Who's to blame for that? It feels like nobody's getting better under Sam- if anything they're getting worse- and if that's not his fault, whose is it?

I'm not saying it is his fault. But it's gotta be someone's! This team continues to demand more time and patience- but time and patience for what?!?! If you're not going to improve, what do you need more time for?

[jk]

I thought the grades were spot on....Bosh regressed from last year...that earns him a C for me too...staying the same would have earned him a B...getting better, which is what is expected would have given him an A.
You don't get judged the same way as a role player (or a sophomore or a rookie) when you are the Franchise Max contract guy...

Raptors announcers and Raptor TV shows like Full Court Press (who's idea was it to have the black hole of a non personality from the booth host the show???): F

[Andrew Noble]

Doug, keep the blog going over the summer. But don't dry it up by spreading it out over 7 days, or even 5 days. A 3 day a week (perhaps some extra when TJ gets traded) would be perfect. Don't dont get offtract and start talking about Jays or something, we only care about basketball stuff on this site.

[Curtis]

Sam Mitchell went golfing only a day after the Raptors were eliminated from the playoffs?! I would be ticked too if I was the GM.

Blogger's note: Actually, it was the Sunday between Games 4 and 5 after practice for a few hours. Big whoop.