We're almost at the quarter mark

Okay, they’re 7-11, probably should be 8-10 and I imagine more than a few of you had ‘em right around that mark, no?

But it’s the way they’ve got to 7-11 that’s cause for concern. And maybe time for some fixes:

THREE THINGS I LEARNED

What do they do?

Well, it’s almost the 20-game mark, which is about when I think you should evaluate teams with as many new guys as this one does, and contemplate change.

And by that I don’t mean major trades (they don’t generally happen this early in the season) and I don’t mean anything crazily drastic in other areas of the game.

But tweaks, to starting lineups, rotations and the like.

As you read this morning in these parts, there is no desire to make changes coming from the coach, even where the rookie is concerned (and he’d be one place people would look). Jay said:

“Obviously, you could take a guy like DeMar and say, ‘yeah the rook’s screwing up for us’ but he’s not. His coverages are as sound as everybody else.”

That being damning with faint praise, it doesn’t seem to be a move the coach wants to make.

So, what else?

Well, this runs counter to the prevailing opinion out there but do you really, in your heart of hearts, think Jarrett Jack would be a more consistent and capable starter than Jose? Really? Jose has his flaws and hasn’t played well for long spurts, no question about it, but I’m not sure the other way is any better.

So, what do you do then?

Start both Jack and Calderon at the two and one and try to juggle point guard minutes? That’s too much juggling.

Start Antoine Wright at the two? Yeah, right. He’s giving them nothing at either end.

Start Marco? And take away the energy from the second unit backcourt? Don’t think so.

How about this:

Do you take a gamble and start Amir Johnson for Bargnani, knowing full well Johnson’s likely to get two fouls in three minutes and Bargnani would be back in there? It gives you a dose of energy and rebounding in the starting five, that’s for sure. Bargnani has never, ever, warmed to the idea of coming off the bench and he certainly hasn’t been the worst of the Raptors offenders this year.

So perhaps that’s the move I make.

And maybe it’s time to see what Sonny Weems can bring you – besides a penchant for shooting the ball every time he touches it – in Wright’s role. Can’t be worse.

I have no idea if Jay is truly contemplating any of these or other moves and he was caught off-guard, I think by a question in the post-game media session yesterday.

Now, I will say this: The season is not lost, they are about where a lot of us thought they would be at this point in the season and there is every possibility they can turn it around even without altering anything.

But maybe it’s time to try something.

-

Sign of the times

A couple of minutes into the fourth quarter, Raps down nine and kind of making a move.

After a Toronto miss, Suns look like they’re getting a runout lauyup as Jason Richardson takes off down the floor. Amir Johnson, the only Raptor hustling, gets down the court and blocks the layup attempt in what could be a pretty nice momentum-changing play.

Trouble was, Johnson was the only Raptor really hustling back and when he blocks the shot, there’s no teammate there to gather in the loose ball.

The Suns do, they keep the possession alive and it ends with an Amare Stoudemire dunk.

Had even one or two of Johnson’s teammates sprinted as hard as he did, it’s entirely possible Toronto goes on a break back the other way and the game gets closer.

An indictment of effort.

-

Action-reaction

Yes, you saw Chris Bosh get knocked down hard by Amare Stoudemire on a flagrant foul and yes, a bunch of Bosh’s teammates reacted in appropriate manner, most specifically Calderon, who got an elbow into Stoudemire’s chest to move him away.

And yes, it was duly noted by teammates and coaches.

But I’m not sure how many of you looked to the bench, where everyone got up and a couple made motions like they were going onto the court.

And there was Marc Iavaroni, doing precisely what an assistant coach has to do, making 100 per cent sure no Raptor actually took a step onto the court, which would have drawn an automatic suspension.

Watching it, it struck me that of all the people in the building, Marc would be the one with the most first-hand knowledge of how allowing players to even take one step towards an altercation can be a crippling blow.

-

And in other news …

-

Who says the league doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on with the Raptors?

Got a release last night that said three players had been fined – Charlotte’s Tyson Chandler and Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire $7,500 each for posting twitter messages during games and Boston’s Rasheed Wallace $30,000 for ripping officials – and I’m thinking, wow, the office does pay attention.

Two of them – Chandler and Wallace – came in games involving Toronto.

We know what Wallace did (him complaining about officials also elicits yawns) but I don’t have a clue what Chandler tweeted ‘cause I pay little or no attention to that form of communication because I think tweeting is for the birds.

(Get it?!)

So here’s what I can only presume he said during that Wednesday game:

“Hey, this is easy!”

“Do they have five guys on the floor, or four?” “Come on, let me get in on this layup line.”

“Wow, another steal and dunk.”

“How’d these guys win seven games?”

-

Marco Belinelli played 17 minutes and six seconds Sunday, missed all five shots he took, including three three-pointers, had one rebound and a turnover. Oh, and his team lost by 19.

He was a plus-13.

See my point about that useless stat?

-

Correction time.

Not sure if I misrepresented the question when I posed it to a friend, or if I misinterpreted the answer I got or whatever but there was a boo-boo in Sunday’s mailbag.

Came in the last question, the one about whether an assist can be given to a guy who inbounds the ball to a teammate who immediately scores.

Yes, that can be an assist.

I was wrong in saying no.

There. I feel better.

-

I offer this paragraph from a Canadian Press story from the Grey Cup last night about Saskatchewan Roughriders fans:

“Many sported watermelon helmets or the occasional watermelon bra as lines of fans slapped high fives with strangers and stopped to compare shades of green or admire white-and-green body paint.”

How could you not like that team?

Now if the coaches or players could only count to 13, we’d have something to talk about today.

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In Phoenix, Paul Coro summed up that one like this.

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So, Lawrence Frank. Out of work.

While it was hardly his fault that the Nets gave away his best player in a money dump and that is point guard got hurt and his centre got hurt and the rest of the team’s not that good, I don’t think there was anyone in the game who was surprised he got fired.

Doesn’t make it right, just makes it expected.

Now, did he become a bad coach over the last month? No way. And I bet he coaches again but please, please, I beseech all of you, do not ask if they should make a move for him now in Toronto.

I will tell you this from talking to people here and from my own opinion, nothing – NOTHING – is going on here. Nothing.

Frank, if he’s a bright guy, sits around for the rest of this season, spends some of the money he’s getting and waits for jobs to open up this summer.

I cannot imagine why any coach fired mid-season would want to jump back into a difficult job without sitting around a little while decompressing.

-

Comments

[rob]

Doug,
I hope you were kidding when u suggested bargnani come off the bench,,, I seem to remember he struggled so much under the tutelage of Smitch because the coaching staff kept jerking him around (off the bench replacing bosh, starting center, starting three , off the bench three...) and that made him lose concentration (heck it made me lose concentration just trying to keep up with his position change),,,, do you really think starting this experiment again is going to work ... I say stick with this starting unit ,,,, it makes sense,,, and there is no need to mess up the chemistry and start from scracth again....
inserting johnson in the starting lineup was tried in detroit and it failed. he is in his perfect spot now ... the only tinkering i would do is starting wright ahaead of derozan... but that presnets a new set of problems ,,, so really just stick with this new unit and try to get better with it.

[Kelsie]

I don't know if bringing in Barg's off the bench is the best move either but judging by some of the responses, it's really amazing to see how much of a pass he gets by fans that watch this team.

Andrea has a huge support system in Toronto (unlike anything i've seen with other teams) and management is clearly behind him but the fact of the matter is he doesn't defend or rebound as well as needed from his position so everyone continues to focus on his offence and looks at him as a scorer first and foremost. If he's not shooting well instead of it being an issue of what else is he doing or how else can he help the team(rebounding, defending, shot blocking), it seems to become an argument of how come we can't get him any touches or why does his teammates 'look him' off! He shouldn't be forced more touches and if he wants them he should grab a few offensive boards. He's our center and although he doesn't have to be a beast, he needs to be active, everynight, which he's more than capable of.

There needs to be more accountability from the starting unit 1 through 5 in regards to what each individual is doing to help the team win. Right now Jose is more deserving of greater scrutiny in my opinion but Hedo's lack of consistency is also troubling as well.

They keep on having an issue in the third quarter of games. How much of this is an issue of not making better halftime adjustments or altering the game plan to respond to what the opposing team is doing? I still can't tell you if Jay is a good coach or a poor one as there are no clear consistencies this year other than they are potent offensively and impotent defensively.

[Al]

Doug your idea of starting Amir in place of Bargnani is assinine at best. Bargnani has not been the problem, and benching him again would ruin the team; I would rather see him traded than coming off the bench. The major problem on offence is coaching as they started the season moving the ball well and getting everyone open shots and have reverted back to the Jose / Bosh slow the game down mess we've always had and that has never worked. It also takes good offensive players like Turk and Bargs out of the flow. On defense again it starts at the point and Jose is the worst defender on the team by a wide margin. I would definitely try starting Jack over Jose to see what changes happen, and I'm not convinced Wright would be a good change for DD unless someone can get Wright to understand his offensive liabilities and get him to defer in that department to others.

[Michel G]

Hey Doug, I know what the Raptors can do to shake things up. Try harder!

[gdr]

I have a hard time watching this team lately. You can tell within the first quarter of the game if they are gonna have a chance to win or not. Friday in Boston, at the half, you knew they were gonna lose even know they had a lead. And yesterday's game, it was over just after the tip. The Raps do not play inspired at all and maybe something (ANYTHING) needs to be done to correct the problem. With some winnable games in December, this team better turn things around quickly or another season will be lost by Christmas...... again!

[greg]

the team is not playing well consistently so changes have to be made. It is hard to pin blame on one person but as a group something is definately off, Jay is gonna have to make some tough decisions, I think shuffling the starting lineup at the one and two position is definately a way to start the guys just have to not see coming off the bench as punishment but as a means to get the right guys playing together at the right time.

[Michel G]

There's no moves to be done and it's way to early to panic. This is our team for better or for worse. The only move that I see is the one you suggested and give Wright's minutes to Weems. Wright talks a good game and seems to be a capable leader, but that also has to translate to the court, which it hasn't so far.

[br]

Johnson starting for Bargnani is exactly what this team needs. You cannot have 2 bigs starting who both like to shoot jumpers. You cannot bring Bosh of the bench because he is your franchise. I assure you that move would result in a better team result. This team has babied Bargnani for too long. Derozan deserves a chance to do more. Bargnani has been given 4 years and caused a coach to get fired. Why everyone is all over the rookie Derozan is beyond me? He is not the problem with this team.

[sara]

Yesterday our two bigs combined for 54/24 : if we lost is NOT because of Andrea who , in my opinion,made a good effort and contributed to keep us alive in the first half.But when your 7 ft. Center made the only 3 pt.shot of the full game , or has to guard the opposing PG/Wings (at some point he was guarding Hedo's man ) there is a huge problem , but that problem is NOT Bargnani.

[Leonardo]

Hi Doug,
I personally don't think that making Bargnani starting from the bench is a good idea. Besides the past week Bargs played decent basketball, we need to change him to have a better D? I don't know, defense is a team effort in this sport. Ok, if you take Bargs out supposedly we will have more energy with Johnson, what about offense? if Bosh has a slow start we risk to be to much behind if Calderon and Turk do not wake up. The rookie starting from the bench could be a good try, maybe Belinelli or Jack for him and see how it works. Benching Bargs will be seen as punishment for him and he really does not deserve it. Maybe Jay is right no changes are needed now if Calderon and Turk find consistency, a better defense will come with more time playing together.

[Nick M]

All these questions of who should start or not and no mention of Turkoglu. I am not trying to insight a change, but everyone is naming the usual offenders Jose and Barg's defense. Turkoglu's defense is nothing special either and save for a few games has been pretty much non-existent with the starting unit. It may be his attitude of wanting to let other people get involved first but it is not helping!

I tend to agree with Oak. You can't have 5 scorers (or at least 4) on the floor at the same time, let alone to start games, and expect to get them all involved.

My two cents. I agree with most, Barg's can't handle the demotion. Rather, Jose should be looking to get him more involved off the start. Bosh's head seems to always be in the game, after that, the next most important player to have involved is, arguably, Bargnani. Plus Bosh is an all-star and seems to have the ability to defer at the start of the game and turn it on at the end of the first Q or early second. I guess that leaves me with only one option-let Turk run the second unit with Jack.

[John Popalis]

"Watching it, it struck me that of all the people in the building, Marc would be the one with the most first-hand knowledge of how allowing players to even take one step towards an altercation can be a crippling blow."

Of all the people in the building? I'm quite sure Amare and Nash dealt with that a little more personally then Marc did.

[greg]

iverson to the sixers doug, thats the news of the day? Crazy isn't it, he will not go away , what do you think ?

Blogger's note: I think it's all driven by Iverson and if I'm Philly there is no way in the world I do it.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Dear fellow armchair coaches,
Hey, this is fun! If NBA wisdom says you start your best five players and if, for lack of practice time, coaching wisdom says you reward the players who show the effort and deliver the execution you demand, then I'd be starting Nelli in place of Jose, Antoine in place of DeRoz and Amir in place of Turk.
Now you've got a really high-energy, defence- and rebound-willing, offensively effective starting five and a much HUNGRIER offensive/defensive mix of Jose and Jack (that combo has been effective and would be even more so against 2nd units), Turk and DeRoz or Rasho, plus whatever starting big you need to leave in.
Understood, Antoine hasn't exactly earned a starting job. But he started 50-some games on a Dallas team last year that was far better than last year's Raps (or this year's, so far), and he'd provide the hard-nosed D that DeRoz hasn't. DeRoz, meanwhile, has had his taste – he knows what it takes. Now let him gain some confidence going against 2nd units and EARN his starting job back. Let Turk get hungry enough to show some fight, too; meanwhile he can light it up as a back-up (where I don't believe Bargs would; he's producing – why kill his confidence?).
And you've still got plenty of other good bench choices to work with. That's the point. This team is loaded with great potential combos – use them!! Go Raps!
Cheers.

[Jack]

What are you saying? Bargnani has developed the Iverson attitude already in just 3 years in the league? "Bargnani has never, ever, warmed to the idea of coming off the bench".
Jay should exercise his authority. If he wants to start someone else, he should just do it and not give in to anyone's whims. And if the player "loses confidence" from coming off the bench, bench him entirely. Doesn't matter if he's getting $10 million a year. The coach's job is for the team to win, not baby sit a player.

[Jojo]

I don't want to use this comment section as a forum to engage in debates with other peoople commenting, but since Dave (I think it was) implicitly called me and others a "nutbar" for suggesting Jack get the starting nod, I would just like the record to be clear that Dave said Calderon is a "borderline all-star" and is calling other people nutbars. In the East alone, Jameer Nelson, Rondo, Mo Williams, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Devin Harris (when healthy) and Gibert Arenas will all get voted or selected to an all-star team before Jose. You don't average 12 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds a game (throw in two turnovers a game), play miserable defence and get consideration for an all-star game in this league. Especially when your team is 7-11. There was a period when Jose was playing at a borderline all-star level, at least on offence. That Jose has not lived here in a while.

[Nick Diem]

One play stands out in mind: The Suns are fast breaking and Amare is running down the middle lane. Andrea is the last man back and looks like he is in position to slow down Amare, maybe take a charge or even a hard foul to send Amare to the line. Instead he runs right in front of Amare to the corner to D up on the 3 pt shooter Dudley; leaving the middle lane wide open for Amare and a thunder dunk. For the first time in a long time all I watched was Andrea when watching the game. He looks like what my coach calls a floater, (not the floater that doesn't fully flush) a player who float out by the 3 pt line and who floats on D. The Raps have alot of money in this guy and his skill set IS amazing but how can your starting center not grab a rebound and float around the 3 pt line all game. I have seen Andrea play D on a smaller guy and do well, he moves his feet and has good lateral quiks for a big man. I have seen Andrea D up a big guy using his length and body position to make up for his lack of athletisim. But to many times he doesnt sprint the floor and on transition D he gets lost. I'm hoping they can light a fire under Andrea and put him in the post. Does he need to mature into a inside player like Josh Smith in ATL? Less threes more inside, too bad you can't teach aggresion. Humour me with a comment Mr. Smith...

Blogger's note: Transition D is an issue and it's mainly effort

[JAY]

I was at the game, in the lower bowl... to me it looked like bargnani was making a real effort to move his feet on D. If you ask me, the real problem is general intensity level. I've been to a few U of T games and those guys looked like they wanted to win a hell of a lot more than the raptors. raps just look like they're waiting for the game to end.

[Andrew Gregg]

HI Doug:

I agree it's not time to panic, but it is certainly time to be concerned. The losses to Charlotte and Memphis are difficult to swallow. If this team is going to take a step forward they have to come away with those winnable games, whether it's the second game of a back-to-back or not. I think this week is going to say a lot about how the rest of the season goes--for the sake of the team's psyche they need to take at least 2 of three, by beating the struggling Wizards twice. Atlanta could be a hard one, but I'd happily take that win as well.

But if by next weekend we're looking at a record of 7-14, or 8-13, I'd be afraid a malaise could set in and the teams starts playing "every-man-for-himself." The stink of losing is a hard stink to get rid of. Triano is essentially a rookie coach and like him or not, he may not have the gravitas around the locker room to dig these guys out of a deep early season hole.

That being said, if they come out of this week 10-11, it's time to head to city hall to book parade permits for June!!

Not that I'm an irrational fan or anything.

AG, Toronto.

[Some Guy]

While I generally agree that defense is the bigger long-term problem for the Raptors', being at the game yesterday, I followed a number of metrics very closely throughout the game and I actually came away more disappointed in the offense for a change. The Raps were only slightly outrebounded overall (48-44) and they actually won the battle of the offensive glass (15-11). They also produced fewer turnovers (11-16), more steals (7-4) and more blocked shots (5-2).
Unfortunately, they shot themselves out of the game. Even a decent overall advantage in points in the paint (52-36) didn't help, because they couldn't hit a 3 to save their lives (they went 1 for 20!). In fact, they came pretty close to finally breaking their "streak" of games with a 3-pointer(for what that's worth). You can argue that their inability to shutdown Phoenix at critical times mattered (who, it must be noted, collectively shot 13 for 30 from downtown), but I would argue it probably wouldn't have made all that big of a difference so long as the Raptors kept missing open looks themselves (and there were a number of uncontested 3's that they missed -- these numbers were not a product of some insane defense by Nash et al.)
Just some additional food for thought on an already glum morning.

[MKM]

Calderon is the source of most of our problems. He flat out cannot guard other starting point guards, he can't keep them in front of him, and they either drive for a layup, or someone has to help, leaving someone on 3-point line wide open for shots. Until Jose can change this, I say don't start him....Jack's a better defender by far. But I would say the raps need a stronger PG before they're gonna do anything in the league.

[graham]

I agree with the post that suggested moving Turk into the second unit is a better answer, as a 6 man Manu Ginobli style -- better balance and a lot of the disconnect on D is between Turk and Bargs it appears.

Is Phoenix a boring, low scoring team? No. They lead the league in scoring. But managed the shut down the raps by defending high -- but not at the expense of the offence. The Raps have lost when they have had extended droughts and stop moving the ball --- when the D gangs up on Bosh and the team can't seem to work the ball otherwise to make them pay for stacking on him -- same for Phoenix as Orlando as Boston.

Perhpas its simply effort -- sprint, don't jog -- and stay with what makes you good: scoring. Slected stops this team can do and it all they need to do if they keep moving the ball.

[The J]

While it's not the rookie's fault for the record, it is surprising how long he has lasted in the starting line-up. Not sure how much he is learning by starting games and then often disappearing for most of the rest of the game with low minutes. How is this building his confidence? He is forced to play in the most pressure (ie, being a starter) but not rewarded with the overall minutes. Wouldn't his confidence be better grown playing against the second units of other teams? He was the 7th pick of an unspectacular draft, and yet they keep forcing this starting role. He is a work in progress, and it may still be a couple of years before we get a true glimpse of his potential, and until he will be ready for this role. The longer they go into the season with him as a starter, the harder he will take it when they eventually do make the change. I tend to think if Wright was giving them what they wanted, the change would have already been made. Perhaps it's time to put Wright in the starting line-up and see if that gets him going.

[Geoff Read]

Hey Doug,
Why all the secrecy around Evans' injury? What's the deal? I can't wait for that guy to get back - he's exactly what the team needs.

Blogger's note: No idea what "secrecy" you're talking about, he's got a mid-foot sprain, they told us last week he saw a specialist in Charlotte who put another boot on for a week and his return is unknown. No secrecy.

[Penny]

Doug, I agree with you that Wright so far has shown nothing special. He can't sink anything but unfortunately, always seems ready to shoot instead of passing. As for replacing Jose with Jack as many people have been suggesting, the other teams' point guards are blowing by Jack as easily as they do Jose and Jack can't sink a wide open 3 to save his soul. In watching the game yesterday, we were commenting that the team is switching too fast - ie there seemed to be quite a few times that Bosh took Nash before he had even gotten by Jose and then, Bosh didn't seem ready to switch back when he had the chance thus leaving Jose on a much bigger man close to the basket. Jose actually stopped the big man from making a play a few times yesterday.