The morning after the night before

Sure, they lost and fans are irked but, really, that was a pretty entertaining game, no?

All kinds of offence, sparkling shooting, a four-point game with four minutes to go provided a wee bit of drama.

No, it’s of no consolation to you, I don’t presume, and it certainly isn’t to the players, but solely for entertainment value, a 125-116 game was fun to watch.

And to dissect. Like this:

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

It’s all about the effort

My scribbling’s a bit unreadable but I think it was in the second quarter after a missed Toronto shot that this happened and it’s troubling.

Ball bounces to Howard, who can’t quite get a handle on it with three Raptors around him.

Ball bounces a couple of times, not one of the Raptors gets on the floor to grab it and Howard eventually collars it and sends the Magic off on offence.

One play in a long game, to be sure, but that was a lack of hustle and effort and you can talk about defence and rotations and protecting the paint and closing out on shooters until you’re blue in the face but if there’s no extra effort, there are likely to be no wins.

That’s an area that has to be cleaned up.

It’s the kind of lack of hustle that gets teammates giving each other the evil eye and a team that’s still trying to figure things out can ill afford to fracture mentally. We all knew there would be trying times to start the season – and with seven of the next nine on the road the trying times are going to continue for a couple of weeks.

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It’s bad all over

No, things are not going well for Jose Calderon, are they?

His defence needs some work – as it always has and probably always will – but his shot is a huge issue, too.

Just 10-26 from the floor overall (a paltry 39 per cent) and only 1-7 from three-point range, which is a percentage not worth printing.

He knows it, knows he needs more work and will get it.

It’s mentioned that history would suggest he’ll start making some and he’s quick to answer.

“Hope so. They just don’t want to go in, I’ll keep working on that and I’ll be okay.”

But, despite the rants of many to write to me, there is no point guard “controversy” and there is no movement afoot anywhere in the organization – from coaches to players to management – to make a change.

Ain’t gonna happen so don’t waste your time pleading for it.

It’s true that through three whole games of an 82-game season that he hasn’t played well. There may be panic among the masses, none exists in the inner sanctum and I know this because I talk to people.

Yes, his teammates and coaches wish he were playing better and they fully expect he will.

But he’s not losing his job three stinking games into season. Not going to happen.

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One thing works

I think we can all agree they’re not getting the kind of shooting we expected -- Jose’s not really going well, Turkoglu’s still very much finding himself – but there can be no question this team can score.

101 against Cleveland, 107 in Memphis, 116 yesterday. They can put the ball in the basket.

Which leads one to think that if they ever get together defensively – and they were good against the Cavs and, at times, in Memphis so it’s possible – things could very well turn around.

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And in the rest of the news.

My man B. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports the game this way.

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Call me in June but right now, Orlando's the best team in the East. No question in my mind.

Deep, can beat you pounding the ball inside or shooting it from the outside, extremely well coached.

You've got a pretty good starting five that was on display yesterday and when Carter, Pietrus and Lewis are all healthy and available, imagine how deep they'll be?

And let me tell you, Otis Smith might have a leg up on Exec Of The Year honours right now by insisting that Ryan Anderson be included in the Vince trade or he wouldn't have done the transaction.

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Remember a week or so ago, we talked about Patrick O’Bryant wanting to get to 2,500 followers on twitter so he could raise some money for the team’s charitable foundation?

A laudable exercise by the young man, who cut a pretty nice cheque himself because he got over the top on Saturday night, just before the deadline.

Not sure what the final tally of money raised is; I hear it’s either real close to or over five figures, and that’s a nice piece of change.

Good on Patrick and good on the people.

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Brad Lidge?

Bah! Can’t get a third out, can’t cover third on the Double Damon Steal.

Knowing Philly sports fans I do, barfing up the biggest game of the World Series means his career may as well be over. They will be unmerciful towards him.

I remember the year the Raptors and Sixers played that playoff series and Matt Geiger couldn’t go for Philly. Some fans thought he might have been, you know, coasting a wee bit and they gave him such a hard time when he was sitting on the bench in a suit he eventually went and watched games on TV in the locker room.

That’s a tough crowd.

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This can’t hurt their chances.

While the Raptors are sitting quietly in their homes on Tuesday night, probably watching the DWTS results show, Wednesday’s opponent, the Detroit Pistons, will be entertaining the Orlando Magic.

Seeing how the only time Toronto’s look really good this season was against a team on a back-to-back, that’s got to be good for them, no?

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“It felt like a Mack truck.”

DeMar DeRozan on running into Dwight Howard.

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The Cleveland game took 2:38 to play; yesterday’s took 2:36.

Felt like we were sitting through baseball games. That’s about 20-25 minutes longer than any game should take.

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Comments

[chris]

Doug - i was at the game. Refs were horrible. I'm not suggesting they are to blame for our loss (that falls on the raptors shoulders), but i really preferred the replacement refs. They certainly werent higher caliber in terms of ability, but at least they were consistent and called everyone the same way.

[jc]

"But, despite the rants of many to write to me, there is no point guard “controversy” and there is no movement afoot anywhere in the organization"
ya well both caldron and jarret aren't playing defence at all so i am not botherd by who starts the game. any ways my question for you is why isn't jay giving marco playing time? like last game he only played 4 minutes and 38 secounds, i dont understand that. i know he made one bad shot but so what, it isnt like he is the only one making mistakes. i just think that instead of playing jose and jarret together he should be playing marco instead. plus its not like demar and wright playing better than him.

Blogger's note: Marco played poorly yesterday, they made a game of it (down four with four minutes to go) without him; I have no issues with that at all

[niagarahoops]

Ulcer creating stuff when you see so many open looks --- JJ Reddick get a career high??????? COME ON!!!!! Play some , even a little defence, and the Raptors have a chance of winning.

I honestly do not understand how the EFFORT is not there 100% of the time???

Yes, your shot is not going to go down all the time, guys are going to make good shots but there should not be 5 feet between you and the guy taken a 3 pointer.. time and time again...

[Joachim T]

Doug,
I don't understand the odd Triano rotation and plays (down the stretch) that was against the Magic.

1.) Bellinelli hardly played. He's been a half decent defensive player thus far and his size and quickness would have helped match up better against Reddick. His offense doesn't hurt either as Reddick is someone they could have attacked.
2.) Why is the Raptors' offense always one-dimensional down the stretch (in the 4th Q) and runs only through Bosh? No one moves at all and everything is stagnant. They lost many more games the last couple of seasons than they won with the "Bosh only" offense down the stretch. Bargs was hot yet they completely ignored him for 4-5 straight possessions in the 4th Q.
3.) Hedo was pretty bad defensively all game yet he played about 40 minutes. The "defensive" team for the Raptors (Jack, Wright, Turk, Bosh, and Bargs) wasn't really better defensively than the regular lineup. It doesn't make sense to keep playing them down the stretch.

[George]

Hey Doug,

How much of yesterday's hesitance to try and hit the glass was the fear of getting hit by Howard's swinging limbs? I don't know if I read this correctly but everyone looked a little scared to even drive into the paint on offence. Something they did without hesitation in the first game.

Blogger's note: They actually out-rebounded Orlando yesterday and scored 38 points in the paint. So I'm not sure your point is valid

[LeeZ]

Doug, I've always loved José; still do. But sumpin's gotta give. One of two things has to happen: either he has to make the other team's 1 work really hard (by penetrating way more than he does and putting up more shots, which WILL start falling, no question), or they'll have to have Jack start games, even if only for the first six minutes or so, to match up with explosive point guards like Nelson. José's not a diva; he has as little ego as is possible for a pro athlete, so I don't think he'd take it as a demotion; in fact, it wouldn't be. On nights when a more slow footed 1 is playing, they could have José start. José would still play the same number of minutes as always, but this way the proper defensive tone would be set at the BEGINNING of the game, thereby not allowing the opponent to get into the flow and get comfortable. Nelson simply SHREDDED the Raps, and José was the first line of (non)defence. Doug, leaving aside questions of ego, etc., do you not agree that setting the proper defensive tone at the beginning of halves, especially on a team that has no problem scoring, would improve the bottom line? (i.e winning)

Blogger's note: No, I'm fine with the starting lineup as it is.
And the starts of the first two games weren't huge issues; yesterday, it was

[Adam J.M.]

Doug, great work with all you do for us raptors fan, sometimes it goes un-noticed, but the appreciation is there.

Too the question segment...a nifty little 2 question one at that, enjoy.

Q1) Doug what is your position on the usage of Hedo Turkoglu? Personally I feel is being utilized wrong, he should have more of a role like he did in Orlando where he was the primary ball handler, this would let Calderon sink to the corners where his shot (when ever he finds it) will become a great asset.

Q2) Where was Marco Belinelli last night? So far this season, he has been a surprise, just a really smart player on both ends of the floor. Given our Point guards had more holes than swiss chees last night I was curious as to why extactly he only played 5 minutes when he could of been effective if he was subbed in to take over the offense from JC/JJ and really get out on Reddick and/or Nelson. Do you have any inside info that you can share as to why Triano "Don Nelson'ed" Belli?

Once again doug, thanks for your dedication, and I hope to see a response.

G'day

Blogger's note: I think they're still trying to figure out Turk's role and it should increase; Marco played very poorly when he was in there yesterday, they made their run (to down four with four minutes to go) without him so I have no problem with that at all

[Matt M]

The Raps started slow during their 47-win season too. A lot of similarities between that season and this one, particularly wholesale changes were made in the offseason and the team didn't really gel until midseason. Maybe it will happen again, maybe it won't, but I get the feeling the Raps are a lot closer to being a really good team than they were the last couple of years. A little more commitment on the defensive end should help, or maybe they could abandon defense all together and try to score 150 pts a game.

I agree that the Raps should stick with Calderon as a starter for a few more games (or as long as Triano likes). Seems to me the last few seasons he was the primary ballhandler and now he has to share a bit with Turkoglu. I'm sure that takes a bit of adjustment.

[kelsie]

'His defence needs some work – as it always has and probably always will – but his shot is a huge issue, too.'

Hey Doug,

A few observations,

I agree it's only three games in and it's hard to make definitive statements but many fans, myself included, have been complaining about Jose's defence for years. I can live with him missing his shot right now. It's off and that can happen to most players at some time or another.

The real issue is when the shots not falling what else can you do? If he's not getting in the lanes and creating for his teammates than he needs to be defending. He doesn't seem to be breaking down defences which is not his forte, and his defence is dissapointing. He HAS to fight through picks and not come underneath all of the time, especially when it's getting you burnt. I think most fans can live with missed shots but you have to put up a resistance at the defensive end.

What kind of offensive sets are we running? It seems to me like we're getting into the 'feed CB mode again' cause he's playing like his life depended on it and we have no consistency from anyone else. I thought we were going to be running a lot more offensive sets with heavy ball movement?

Do you think Jay is still committed to running with the Calderon-Jack line-up in the end of games? I don't know how effective it's been for us so far.

I know you don't think changes should be made but how do they get things going better? I know we can speak of internal improvement but I'm worried that defence and better offensive execution are things that are going to be an issue all year for this team?

[Leon]

Morning doug, it's not your problem but something is wrong with the basketball section. The main article being shown is from preseason. Could you pass word along that something is out of sync? Have a great day and keep up the fantastic work!

[caciatore]

Ok so now everyone is in agreement that Jose is not playing very well. I don't believe he should lose his starting job but on the other hand perhaps he should not be finishing or at least do offense defense which Jay did at the end of yesterday's game. After Wednesdays game look at the PG's Jose will have to face, Paul, Kidd, T Parker, Rose, Davis, Nash, Billups, D Williams. Can you see Jose being able to show any defense against those guys? If he doesn't they could be 0 for on that stretch of games. Nice hole to try and climb out of. Bottom line if Jose is struggling you can't afford to wait too long for him to find his game. At least let Jack and Wright finish games or perhaps go defense/offense with DD and Jose

[gdr]

If the Raps play the same way against the Pistons, they should easily beat the lesser opponent. They should kill Detroit inside. Why does everyone concentrate on the negatives, there are some positives from the last 2 games...

[Peter]

Is it just me, or did Calderon lose some weight over the summer? He looks thinner than I've ever seen him.

I'm not in panic mode yet, but what I've seen from him thus far really concerns me. Nelson absolutely abused him all game. He's always been a liability on defence, but if he has nothing to add on offence (which he hasn't, thus far), there's really no point in him being on the court, is there? He's even been horrible from the free throw line. If I were Jay, I'd give him 15-20 games at most. If we don't see a significant improvement by then, it's time to try something different.

[Amr]

DS,

What did you think about Barg's effort after the altercation with Barnes. It seems that this kid has the chutzpah to take his game to another level when motivated (only the special ones can do that). The question is, how does the team get him amped and fired up? Maybe Bosh should punch him in the face pre-game or something? (In the words of DS, I kid). The guy has talent, he just needs to get fired up, no?

[CC]

Doug, who was those 3 raptors? was not able to watch the game. just followed it on radio...

Blogger's note: Don't recall and don't want to speculate in case I get someone wrong

[Nick]

What are your thoughts on the wacky rotations? I'll give Triano a pass because it's only the third game of the season, but it's something he needs to hone. Players like knowing when they are going to come in and out of games so they can get a rhythm. So far his rotations have had little rhyme or reason and everyone looks confused. If this continues, I think you'll see some upset players.

[marc in Burlington]

Hola Doug,

How long until Evans is back on the floor?

How long until the "best officials in sports" get their games back?

Can you honestly say that the floor wasn't tilted in the Magic's favor in that game?

My newest conspiracy theory: Stu Jackson has directed the refs to call games unfavorably against the Raptors so that it makes it very difficult for them to win, and Bosh then signs to a US team. Far fetched? Maybe. But Stu's got that "killing off basketball in Vancouver" accomplishment on his resume already ;)

Blogger's note: No definitive word on Evans

[Takashi]

Doug is it me or Jack's defense is just marginal better than Calderon's? I don't see him improving the defense much if he is put in the staring lineup.

Do you agreed?

[Vijay C.]

Hey Doug, hope all is well, anyway i was at the home opener and noticed that no one in the endzones got those inflatable thunder sticks to disreact the free throw shooter, and i noticed in the game against orlando, no clap sticks again, is this just something to save money or is it a league wide no more distracting the free throw shooters with big inflatable sticks that make noise when hit together?

Blogger's note: Not sure of the reason but am very, very, very glad they haven't been around

[Matthieu]

I'm surprised that hardly anybody mentioned CB's huge performances. I mean okay there have been only three games, but still averaging 31 ppg and 14.7 rpg is huge I think.
Anyway, I just hope this season won't go down the drains too quickly

[CC]

caciatore: " After Wednesdays game look at the PG's Jose will have to face, Paul, Kidd, T Parker, Rose, Davis, Nash, Billups, D Williams."

To Caciatore: Jose can't keep up with these guys but who can? Thats why they need to improve their Team Defence.

[Al]

Doug, a year has gone by and I still don't have TSN2 in my cable package. What's the deal? Will they ever stop screwing us?

[Pete]

Hey Doug - Any word on Douby? Are they picking up his contract?

Blogger's note: Deferred a decision for two weeks

[zac]

my mini rant.
Hey Doug Im all for team defence clogging the lanes and paint. but sometimes players need to break out of the team defence & just stay with their man at the 3 point line. shooters like Ryan Anderson, JJ Reddick, Mayo, D. Gibson, J. Nelson etc etc have been killing the raps. Calderon is my fav player on the raps but I still have to admit he is killing us on the Defensive end. ( its not just him but he seems to be getting beat more then anyone) even cb4 has been amazing but they guys he has guarded Ryan Anderson & Zach Randolph have mathed him almost point for point the last 2 games
after all that im actually pretty encouraged with the team this year, I love the depth & IF (and its a big if) the team starts guarding shooters I think they will be fine

[gdr]

Re: Vijay C. & the Thundersticks. The last few years they have been sponsored by famous burger restaurant McDonalds. They also sponsored every 3 point Raptors basket. This year, no thundersticks or 3-pt sponsor. Maybe the economy is hitting them hard? Or maybe they decided to spend their money on something worth-while. As a season ticket holder in the endzone seats, I do not miss the thundersticks At All!!