Doug will return

A late game and an early flight mean that Doug Smith won't be able to do his usual post this morning. He'll be back soon.

-Star.com editors

Comments

[Raptors Devotee]

No worries. The way the Raptors are playing right now with a sub-500 record we can wait.

[Paolo Porra]

The coaching staff is evaluating the team performances in the last games to take some "strong" decision. Are they able to see the completely selfish approach that the team had in the last period? If they are able to do this they must point their finger against themselves! Except for Chris, it's the first time that an NBA team has not a specific schema to feed the ball to its 2nd best scorer (Andrea) and that plays minutes and minutes (game after game) not giving him the ball. If you ask Andrea to make screens without touching the ball you are not using him for his value, you are just not able to manage your players value. Are you going to judge him for his rebounding weakness? Ok, trade him for a strong (and no scoring rebounder) and you'll make very happy the Andrea's new team! No defence and not a real offensive game when you need it are much more on coaches than players. Raptors fans do not like Euro approach? In Italy we suggest to use a defence oriented (maybe the european Messina?) and real coaching man!
Triano is polite but with no experience at any level as main coach (except for the canadian team, winning what?).
We love Raptors in Italy but they must try to use Andrea, Marco, Turk and their real basketball value, not only saying that they are not defenders! Look at Johnson, Wright and Weems offensive and defensive performances in the last period. They are very strong to play 3 vs 3 in a public field!

[elwyn jennings]

I agree with Paolo!!

[Jacek]

Haven't seen many games as I'm abroad but I'm peeved about Turkoglu.... from what I've read the guy has attitude (towards the fans) and lackadaisical work effort... Ship him out ASAP... I think Doug gives him too much leeway and he's been defending him since the beginning of the season. Maybe he needs a stint back in Turkey but I'm sure he's laughing as the money is already in the bank.

[Anthony]

No worries Doug, there is not much more that can be said. Talk is cheep, man up and play hard, take some pride in your D. What a time for this team to go on a losing streak, brutal.

One question to you Doug, is Andea good in the pick and roll / pick and pop? If Jay wants more D and also wants to use Andea to his strength then maybe have him come off the bench with Jose and run some plays for him.. play Evans at the PF to help him rebound..? Amir or the ever steady vet Rasho could start at center?

[Bob]

Come back, Doug! All is forgiven!

[RapsFanSinceDay1]

First off this is the NBA, not the Euro leagues. Defense wins championships. Raps need to set the tone of being a hard nosed defensive squad at the start of games. If you are going to commit a shooting foul, make sure the shooter can't get his shot up. No Hand Slaps (looking at your Turk).

My player reviews to date:

Barg - Only has two valuable assets. He can shoot a 3 and the once or twice a game he realizes he has a speed/quickness advantage he drives. He cannot pass the ball, he cannot set screens, struggles mightily with defense and just does not seem to have his head in the game. Where is his intensity?

Turk - Has the ability to be a solid all around player...on offence as his defense is terrible and he probably leads the league in slapping fouls as well as And-1s. Yes he can pass, rebound and shoot...but statistics shows that while he is not afraid of taking alot of shots, he is not very efficient. He also does not have his head in the game and likes to launch bad shots or make terrible passes. Also, where is his intensity? He seems to just give up and settle as an outside jump shooter.

Calderon - solid assist/TO ratio...but loves to over dribble. He was doing great as the leader off the bench and built some chemistry with players like Amir but is he the slowest (quickness wise) PG in the NBA? He gets burnt almost every time. Also, his FT% has dropped over 15% from last year...What happened?

Bosh - Settles for jump shot too often. Offense just stalls when he gets the pass as he averages around 3 seconds to decide what to do and forces his teammates to stop and wait until he decides. People were talking about his defensive intensity with the USA Hoops team...but where did that go?

Derozan - A promising rookie, but is this the time to have him start? He looks slow and lost (especially on defense) which is expected but its crunch time and winning is more important than his training.

Jack - Plays defense, plays physical and drives the lane. People are saying that he is being selfish but the guy is shooting 50% and is a leader who takes it upon himself when the Raps offence stops. He is a great drive and dish pg and has been averaging around 6 assists a game as a starter (30mins or so playing time).

Overall, the team IMHO needs to change the line up to balance it out more.

Start: Bosh, Barg, Wright, Weems and Jack. This will provide offence but still set a defensive tone while minimizing the entry passes/lane drives against Barg and bosh.

2nd Unit: Amir, Turk, Derozan, Calderon and Rotate Bosh/Barg with this unit. This unit will be able to score and have athleticism. The defensive liabilities of individuals like Turk, Calderon, Barg and Derozan will be less of an issue against other teams bench players.

Crunch Time: Bosh, Barg/Amir, Turk, Wright, Jack. On offense Bosh will be inside presence, Barg can stretch the D, Turk will be the facilitator, Wright the spot up shooter and Jack can drive to the bucket or drive and kick out. Amir can help keep the ball alive with Offensive rebounding On defense, you will have size to get rebounds in Bosh, Barg/Amir and Turk, while Wright and Jack will make it tougher for opponents to get dump in passes and easy outside shots...as long as Turk, Barg are able to defend better without committing weak fouls that is.

Also whoever posted that Barg, Bell and Turk would make a great 3 on 3 team...just remember NBA is 5 on 5 and it's not winners ball (where if you score you keep possession of the ball).

[kazbid]

ya, its definitely about time triano came down harder on the players; jack armstrong has some interesting comments on his approach/thoughts on coaching prior to saturday's game basically saying if he was in jay's position, this is the time to become more of a taskmaster with the team because even though we'll make it into the playoffs..we are not even close to competitive on a nightly basis

but hearing jay's comments last night..it sounds as if he's happy with the current effort level. i dont see any huge philosophical changes coming to the raps..so looks like early first round exit is the goal right now.

[David Sidhu]

Doug,

What was with Jay's answer when you asked him about the Bargnani/Lamarcus matchup? He sort of smiled like there was an implied answer but he verbally said something completely unrelated. What was he suggesting?

Blogger's note: I'll explain it in the morning; just got off an airplane after loooooong day. Taking night off

[hum]

Did Iavaroni Psych out at the end of the game? He looked like he was about to headbutt someone.
Cannot Blame Him.

[emoney]

No more excuses for these guys. Bargnani is softer than a pillow and its just unacceptable for a center. Turk was not a good signing obviously and even worse is his attitude. Triano has to man up and play who is getting after it (Weems & Amir). Pathetic. I'm sick of hearing how Colangelo is a top notch GM, the man is over-rated (Jermaine O'neal & Turk signings). I won't listen to any more excuses this team does not deserve to be in the playoffs.

[JHP]

Doug I hope you have a great night off. Of course if your like me you'll just go to sleep :-)) As they say there's always next year and we have to relax and enjoy the ride. The Bull's fans at work are ready for the playoffs.

[James Online]

Doug, in your in-game blog comments at Portland, a fan asked you if Marco could be a player who contributes much like Rudy Fernandez does for Portland. His comment was spurred by a beautiful no look, tough angle pass Rudy made, which surely reminded the fan of Marco's skill at the same thing.

You quickly huffed that Marco is "not as quick, doesn't shoot it as well, doesn't handle as well, doesn't see the court as well."

Marco Belinelli and Rudy Fernandez have VERY comparable career statistics.

Field goal percentage: Rudy 42%, Marco 42%
3pt percentage: Rudy 40%, Marco 39%
Free throw percentage: Rudy 85%, Marco 81%

Biggest difference is Rudy has been given much more of an opportunity to succeed.

Games played NBA: Rudy 127 games, Marco 131, however
Minutes played per game: Rudy 25 mins, Marco 16 mins.
Points per game: Rudy 9.8, Marco 6.3 (but if you extrapoliate the difference in floor time Marco is 9.0)
Assists per game: Rudy 2.0, Marco 1.4 (extrapolates to 2.1)
Boards per game: Rudy 2.7, Marco 1.3 (ex to 2.0)
Steels per game: Rudy 1.0, Marco .6 (ex to .9, second best on Raptors at this point, without the extrapolation)
Turnovers per game: Rudy 1.2, Marco 1.0 (ex. to 1.5)

Marco brings much of what Rudy delivers: creativity, excitement, ability to hit the three and dunk the ball contested).

A big part of the Raptors' problem right now is that they lack movement, chemistry, passing (except for Jose). Tough nosed defense, which Marco brings.

So, please, the comparison to Rudy holds up well, and the fan was on to something important.
Yes, I'm a huge Marco fan...for good reason.

[NimzRapz]

Dude, WHERE are you?????? I need my daily fix of your blog.

[jim]

I'm really missing your tap-dancing, Doug.

[Norrin Radd]

These guys stink...the coaching staff accepts this? Man o man...all year we have journalists and coaching staff saying how Turk is the man, he will come around, he is the guy we want to have the ball...well it's been almost the entire season and we are still waiting for him to come around. This was not a good signing period...when are we going to stop making excuses? Maybe it's time to realize that this defensive system they have been trying to work all year just isn't working.

[Pat]

This is not just Bargnani's fault, but it has to be said.

Bargnani - let's face it, he's not a starter who you win with (I'd like my starting center to box out and average more than 6 rebounds)

This link is pretty telling (sorry Bargnani fans)
http://blogs.thescore.com/nba/2010/03/15/andrea-bargnanis-rebounding-a-historical-perspective/

He gets a long rope to work with because he was a former number one and the nice hefty long term contract he signed.

Bottom line, he's a 6th man brought in for offence (like Jamal Crawford), he does not deserve to be a starter with substantial minutes. I rather have Luis Scola and the gritty effort of the rag tag Rockets than the offence pretty defense horrific (last in the league) Raptors.

I want passion, I want effort, I want a team I can be proud of win or lose, not the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde show.