Tell me you were surprised by a bad game following a good one

Join Doug Smith for a live Q&A at noon today, as the Raptors prepare to take on the Orlando Magic.

Bit of a schedule change for today, I’m afraid.

The regular game-day chat goes back to noon from 1 p.m. but, alas, there cannot be an in-game blog this evening.

I had forgotten about the department’s Post-Work, Pre-Christmas Buss-toss And Social Soiree taking place this evening at an establishment across the street from where we ply our trade.

I don’t get to hang with those folks too often and with some of them departing soon, I should. So I will.

Sorry.

Some of you know how to reach me if you want; other than that, we’ll do the in-game thingy Friday.

Until then …

-

THREE THINGS I LEARNED

Wanna ease the angst?

Come to this realization:

This is what they are right now. A middling team that’s good one night and bad the next, inconsistent of effort and, more importantly, execution.

The infuriating thing has to be that they can do it. They can play their defensive system to good success, as we’ve seen on a handful of occasions, the most recent being Sunday.

And despite the fact they haven’t hit a three-pointer in eons, it seems, they are still one of the more potent offensive forces in the league.

I was talking to a rival assistant coach one night recently and asked him for an honest assessment of the Raptors.

What I got was this, and I paraphrase because my tape recorder wasn’t on and the hand-written notes I jotted down are almost indecipherable.

But the gist of it’s right:

“It’s a good team, a playoff team. Probably fifth best in the East. But I have no idea why they can’t play hard every night. If you get them down, they go away.”

Pretty good assessment, don’t you think?

And maybe that’s where you’re going to be for the next 10 or 15 games, like you’ve been for the first 27. Highs and lows. Some good games, more bad. Effort lacking one night, effort there the next.

And all you can do, I fear, is hope they find some magical consistency, that they get on some kind of role and it sticks with them. There are no magical solutions, no huge trade, no shocking moves to be made. Maybe something big happens a month from now but for the time being this is what they are.

Of course, t feeds into the oft-bipolar attributes of some fans and will undoubtedly cause more angst than some would like to suffer through but, a third of way through the regular season, it is what it is.

Enjoy.

-

It’s easy, but it’s wrong.

Every day after losses like Tuesday nights – and that’s quite a few days now that I think of it – the e-mails flood in.

“Jarrett cost them that game.”

“Jay cost them that game.”

“If Bargnani was better, they would have won; it’s his fault.”

“Did you see the bench? That’s why they lost.”

Oh, were it so simple.

You cannot ascribe blame to one player or coach, it’s foolish and dead wrong.

Like last night, for instance.

On one possession, Andrea would do a good job defending his guy, force a miss and watch a weakside offensive rebounder grab the ball.

On one possession, I think Sonny Weems forced Mario Chalmers to dribble out about 16 seconds of the shot clock but Jack couldn’t fight through a screen and the Heat got an open look.

Bosh holds off O’Neal on the boards, Turk lets his guy slide in to grab a miss, forgetting the basic box-out tenet of defensive play, which is to find your guy and put a body on him.

It’s never one guy, never one play. It’s a collective team game and, believe me, there’s always more than enough blame to go around.

-

We’re seeing regression.

Remember, about 10 days ago, everyone was gaga about DeMar DeRozan and how maybe he finally “got it” and was about to turn some mythical corner.

Not so much.

Check out the last five shooting games: 2-9, 1-4, 0-5, 2-4, 4-10.

That’s a whopping 9-32 by my math and that’s simply not good enough. Oh, and in his last four games, he’s shot a whopping four free throws – and they all came in one game against Atlanta.

That’s 21 minutes of free throw-free play against the Rockets and another 28 minutes without a trip to the line Tuesday night in Miami.

I know he’s a rookie and he needs to be cut some slack but isn’t his play rather indicative of the entire team? Shows up one night, doesn’t the next.

-

And there’s also this:

The lose and they lose big

What have they lost? Sixteen games?

By my count, they’ve lost six of those games by 20 points or more. A quick glance of last season’s scores shows the lost six games by 20 or more points in the entire season.

-

I’m going to bring this up even though it’s a rant and ends with some rhetorical questions.

So yesterday a guy calls me a “fool” for the misuse of one word in a 1,200-word blog post.

Then during the live chat in the afternoon, an idiot writes “u suck” (which tells me he or she is about 12), another wants to know about my sexual orientation, another demands that I answer his or her question and if I don’t I’m a racist and that’s the just the stuff I remember off the top of my head.

The questions:

Does doing crap like that make people feel, what? Significant? Smart? Comical? The least bit relevant? Or does it just feed some basic mental defect that says, “hey, look at me even if I don’t give you my real name.”

And people wonder why I’m cranky every now and then.

Of course, there are so many of you who are smart and insightful and I appreciate the comments because it adds an awful lot to this tiny community.

But, really, reading that kind of tripe can get a guy every now and then.

And that should make entire season, er, I mean entire sense to you.

-

Oh, in Miami, this is what Ira wrote off that one.

-

It was interesting to talk to the Canada Basketball people yesterday about the world championships draw and what might transpire between now and then.

The one thing that go to me:

The continued expectation that Matt Bonner will get his citizenship act together to ride to the rescue and that they continue to hold out Jamaal Magloire as a possibility.

Now, I’ve been pretty clear on this in the past, but it bears repeating: These worlds need to be as much about developing the program and the young players and looking ahead to 2011’s Olympic quaiifying even than anything.

Matt needs to give them a commitment for three summers – I imagine he will but they need to make that clear – and as much as they talk about Jamaal, I don’t think they need him on the court.

Where they need him is in his community, telling the kids in Toronto that the national team program matters. Maybe there’s room for him on the bench in some advisory role, at least as a teacher during practices.

But on the floor?

On the floor this summer has to be about kids in their early 20s gaining invaluable international experience. Look, with or without Matt Bonner and Jamaal Magloire, this is a team that will be life and death to win two games in the preliminary round and advance to the knockout stage.

That’s a legitimate goal, difficult to achieve, and something realistic to shoot for. And if they reach it with a young team learning, it’s only going to help in 2011, maybe 2012 and after.

-

From Orlando, Brian Schmitz tells us in this piece that the Magic is quite happy the league took exception to some over-exuberant physical defence the Pacers played on Dwight Howard the other night and upgraded a foul on Troy Murphy to a flagrant.

Bet they won’t be worried about the same thing after they play Toronto tonight.

-

Comments

[gdr]

This team is harder & harder too watch. A note for all viewers, after the first 15-20 minutes of the game, its pretty obvious whether the Raps are willing to compete that night. Last night I turned off the game with 4 minutes left in the 1st half. I predicted a 10+ point loss....

Keep up the good work Doug, without your daily blog, I would have no access to the behind-the-sceens issues.

[greg]

thanks for pointing out the points differential in raptors losses doug. It seems that every wednesday night or tuesday road loss has been a blowout this season. I know its not always the case but i remember so many already and its only november. Back to back in Orlando, make that 7 blowouts.

As for the Morons who make threats and accusations to you on a nightly basis, i guess it comes with the territory when you are open to the public, especially when these posters can hide their cowardly comments behind the internet. You run a good blog, don't let these punks discourage you.

As for DeROzan, i think defences have caught up to his game, weak jumpshot and 90% chance he will drive, so they put pressure on him but don't foul since he is not that strong yet. The refs also aren't giving him calls since they have come to expect the drive. No respect for a rookie. He gets blocked a lot too, he have not figure out yet how to protect the ball. Everytime i see him stuffed in the paint i say Welcome to the NBA rookie :)

Any clue what a team or player does in order to get consistency on a nightly basis? I suppose it's more mental than anything else.

[Matt]

I'm sure there are annoying immature people that say rude things but, really, if you're going to put yourself out there, suck it up and get thicker skin. You complain about "knuckleheads" an awful lot, and today devoted a good chunk of your blog to it. You don't have to post what these people say, so just ignore it. Be the bigger person. Please stop mentioning it. If it bothers you so much, stop doing the in game blogs.

[jimt]

CB4 also mentions about pimple fans who have nothing but jargon in their vocab,my advice is to laugh it up haha and treat them as spam haha some people are so insecure with themselves not even dr phil can help them haha.anyhoo regarding DeRook it just doesnt make sense that he start all the time Coach T needs to look at incoming teams and sit him during teams with inferior records as they should command respect. I understand developing the rook but its costing the raps games and he would thrive in the second unit against the bostons and the like.

[Bill Wong]

The Dorell Wright put back slam says it all. The looks of the two raptors standing beside him not boxing out almost made me threw up my dinner.

[Mark L]

Doug, in Feschuk's article, if I recall correctly, he mentioned how Belinelli snapped back at Iavaroni and went to sit farther down the bench. As the defensive specialist, is that part of the problem...they aren't listening to him?

[Michel G]

There's only one thing you can control in sports, and that's effort. And that's what the Raps are lacking, as you've so well indicated above. The pucks are two points out of a playoff spot after a horrendous start, and it's not because of talent. It's because they work their asses off. Here's hoping the Raps start doing the same because their road to the playoffs is way easier than the hockey team's.

[Jim K]

Wrong. The most infuriating thing about the Raps is that this inconsistency has been going on since the middle of the 07-08 season. We're almost 2 full seasons of this crap, and I'm sick of it.

During that time, we've changed a coach and inserted 9 new players into the lineup. And nothing. Only thing that hasn't changed is the core of Bosh, Bargnani and Calderon, that have been together for 3 years now.

Its time for the core to change.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug,
Just want to echo the sentiments today. You've single-handedly changed the way we watch basketball – a Raptors game without The Goods is just plain weird now – and you have several tens of thousands of grateful followers and supporters out here.
Tough to ignore the rest – though it's not all that much different than navigating the roads these days. Hiding behind the wheel (or their mouse), there will always be that small, anonymous handful of your well-monikered "ass pimples" anywhere you go, doing wacky, self-"inflating" crap they'd never have the cajones to try face to face in the real world.
And hey, Raps, man up and follow the bouncing ball – that's where the game is!
Thanks, Doug, and keep up the great work.

[Randy Gabrielson]

Doug,

Long time reader - rarely a poster. Love the sarcasm and snark. In regards to the personal attacks I am always amazed when I read that sort of thing here. Really are people's worlds that small. In my humble opinion, you inform, entertain, and to the best of your ability interact with your readers. And you do more then an admirable job. In fact I would go as far as to say brilliant. And shock of all shocks you aren't perfect and make the occasional typo or prediction.

Stay Gold and know the vast majority of us think just like you do "Knuckleheads... sheesh, get a life"

[Matt M]

Leaves in contention? While last in the Northeast? See the bipolar disorder that changes when the Raptors win or lose is transferable to the other Toronto sports teams.

[Pipit]

I watch every game the Raptors played this season and the major culprit of not playing hard most of the time is Hedo. I know that he has a fat contract and all but why do any of the coaching staff get all over him and give him sh_ _ about it. Almost every game I see him smiling in the court eventhough the team is getting blown-up by more than 20 points. I guess the whole culture of the Toronto organization is based on playing soft and getting bullied around, not just with the players but with all the coaching staff as well. Just imagine, you got trampled by the Hawks in Atlanta and just a few weeks later, you got beaten again that bad by the same team on your homecourt? Where's the pride? Heard that Jack A. has circled the calendar on the next game the Raptors will play the Celtics. So what is he expecting, some sort of a fairy tale movie wherein the Raptors will just show up with guns blazing and all? Hello!!! Doug, tell Jack A. that this is professional sports. Doug, if players don't play that hard on a night to night basis, whose job it is to correct the problem?

Blogger's note: It's everyone's job, coaches, players, GMs

[Paul]

Let me know when they get to .500 and are playing somewhere near the vicinity of their potential.

Until then, I'm out.

Go Leafs!

[will]

don't let them get you down, Doug, it's the internet. I've learned that there is no point in responding or even acknowledging those kinds of comments on the internet. they're stupid and pitiful cries for attention and they are a widespread epidemic on the internet where people can hide behind their anonymity. Of course, it is only behind the computer screen that they have the cojones to makes such remarks.

Back to basketball - I agree that the onus cannot be put on one player or one coach but it's evident that some coaches are better at summoning effort from their players than others. Seeing the Raptors being as inconsistent as they are, Triano is not one of them. Do you think he has it in him to become that coach? Is he still a young coach learning the ropes? Is it a learning process?

Thanks Doug.

Blogger's note: It's very much a learning process.

[Lawrence]

Antoine Wright: Dissenter?

[chili]

Hey Doug,
Question about the national team. Matt Bonner is willing to get naturalized so he can play for the national team. Is there a plan to get more NBA seasoned players through the naturalization process to make the national team stronger? I've known countries that do that. Even the U.S. one time. Hakeem Olajuwon's U.S. citizenship was kind of "rushed" so he could play for the 2000 Olympic team. Jordan and Japan have naturalized players although they are relatively unknown. Do you know if Canada is warm to the thought?

Blogger's note: One per country limit

[Pipit]

I heard that our "brilliant" GM has a lot of good things to say to Marco. The only good thing about Marco is his inconsistency. The GM said that we got a sharpshooter on him. What? I will be a sharpshooter too if I will take a 100 shots everyday. Now we're seeing why Coach Nelson benched this guy. An inconsistent shooter with a so-so defense. It's good that he picked the number zero because that's how you can describe how he plays. Doug, do you still have high hopes that this Bellinelli guy will be the player that our "truly exceptional" GM is talking about?

Blogger's note: He can be good, yeah

[Pipit]

We're almost a quarter through the whole season. By the way things are going in the Raptor land, based on your honest opinion, will Chris be a Raptor next year?

Blogger's note: I'm not doing summer questions until summer. Sorry

[Tree]

Doug -

This is the first time I've posted in about a year; you do a great job, and have been exceptionally inovative in using the in-game blog, pre-game chat, etc. The way you've embraced new technology to help Raps fans further enjoy the game is top-notch. That said, I haven't posted in so long for one simple reason: you treat people with dissenting opinions to your own the same way you treat the trolls - with dimissive "I am smarter than you" disrespect. Late November / early December 2008, we were all worng about SMitch, he wasn't going anywhere and we needed to accept that ... until, oops, he was gone. Opinions are great, and when well presented, differences in opinion generate great discussion (esp. in the sports world). What forced me to stop reading/writing was your response to a 14 yr old fan asking about how to become a beat man for a sports team. Instead of answering (i.e. go to school, get a degree in XXX, volunteer with a small student newspaper etc...), you made fun of the person's spelling and grammar. That was the sum total of your response.

Bottom line - you do a great job, it's fantastic and interactive, but you're way too dismissive of those that disagree. As for the Raps ... "middling" is a kind description. That would imply middle of the road or mediocre. They hope to be middling ...

[kazbid]

doug. i saw the game last night..and besides the general lack of effort on D..its hard to say exactly why they suck so bad.
why do you think they lost last night?

[Matt]

Let the haters hate Doug.

Heck I've even given you a hard time about the Iverson thing but would never resort to 'u suck' or personal attacks.

Fans frustrations with this team are simply misplaced and since I dont see Brian Coangalo handing out his email address to bear the brunt of criticism unfortunately you seem to be the 'go to guy' whether its right or wrong.

You know how you can stop it?

Publish Brian's email address...

Keep up the good work and try to limit the venom you have for a certain player who plays in Philly and wears no.3

[BrianV]

I cannot help but feel, that this squad will NEVER be a good defensive team, as long as Bargnani is the centre. I am not saying that Andrea is a bad player. On a team that is already good defensively, he would be an integral piece. But on this squad, where we strive (pray) for average defense, it will never happen. He just plays too far from the basket. I have never been a trade-Andrea person until now. But at the centre position, above ALL else, the starting centre must be above-average defensively, if the remaining front-court is not. I would also love to see Jose traded for Andre Miller. The numbers would work according to ESPN Trade Machine. Though I dont see why Portland would swap PGs when they need a SF. These two, above all others, are both good players who could help playoff teams, but hurt us defensively game in, game out. Ahhh. Done venting. Thanks!

[Earl]

I think Belinelli will get back on track. He had a pretty good stretch for 5 or 6 straight games in November.
Strange player-- sometimes he actually looks pretty intense. Most of the time he looks fairly disinterested.
I guess that could be said about many of the 2009-2010 Raptors squad, though.

As I said, though-- I have hope for Marco. Clearly he has talent, and when he's playing kinda crazily and putting the ball on the floor a bit more, he's actually pretty fun to watch.

[Oliver]

Hey Doug:
Unfortunately, lashing out at the morons only encourages them. They do feel slightly empowered hiding behind their keyboards. Especially when they know they are getting to you. Don't give them the time of day.

[petro]

So it continues... soft, mentally weak, poor defense, giving up second and third chances, questionable shot selection, missed assignments/execution, injuries blah, blah, blah!

I'm starting to really disengage... and that's not good for the Raps and the average fan base because I would consider myself a hardcore fan and a student of the game for a very long time.

Now Doug... I ask you... have you noticed any significant signs of fan disengagement and at what point might you or your colleague write about that?

Blogger's note: Attendance down from last year, but it's usually off a bit at the start of a season and we're tracking the trend as the year goes on