Time for a change, except for what we do here

Damn refs.

Oh, wait, that was Tuesday.

Never mind.

-

THREE POINTERS

Time for a change

Remember the other day when I mentioned that there were those in the hierarchy who thought change might be coming to the starting lineup?

I am sure their voices are louder now and should be listened to.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the starting lineup in Golden State on Saturday wasn’t Jose Calderon, Antoine Wright, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.

It’s not entirely a knock against Jarrett or DeMar – and Lord knows there’s enough under-performing going on now that everyone shares the blame – but it’s got to be time to do something to see if they can find a spark.

There’s still a quarter of the season to go and that’s plenty of time and they remain right in the thick of a race for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth.

But the events of the past couple of weeks, plus some private conversations I’ve had with a bunch of people, leads me to believe change is afoot.

And, frankly, I think it should be.

-

One step back

Actually, it’s more like a dozen steps back and it speaks entirely to what transpired early in the third quarter last night, when a winnable game went away.

In every NBA game, when a team rebounds a miss and starts heading up the court, you usually hear someone on the bench yell:

“Stop the ball, stop the ball.”

Yeah, right. Not if you’re the Raptors last night.

Their transition defence was so bad it was laughable.

On one play, Tyreke Evans was leading a break and going about 55 feet straight ahead with the ball. At least three Raptors were back but did even one move into Evans’s path to slow him?

Nope.

Dude went right to the rim through all of ‘em, was fouled, completed an and-one and it was 55-48.

That’s the kind of lax defence we saw in November and it looked to have been corrected in December, January and February.

Not so much.

That’s simply effort and smarts and if they don’t have that, they have no chance.

-

To a screeching halt

That was Toronto’s offence and that’s been the issue now for more than two weeks.

The ball simply doesn’t move and, what’s worse, neither do the players.

Chris Bosh was a big culprit last night, spending too much time sizing up his man rather than making a decisive move but he was hardly alone.

Jarrett Jack was the same with a handful of early jumpers, Turk took a bit too long on some possessions and Jose probably fired up a couple too many jumpers coming off high screens when he could have driven or passed.

And unless they figure that one out, recall the days of crisp ball movement, late-clock open shots and sharing, they’re dead.

-

A wee bit more before I have to head to the airport

-

What do I think?

Putrid, stinky and smelly.

Turk’s an albatross around a franchise’s neck and not only shouldn’t Jarrett be starting, neither should Jose and if they don’t fire Triano and get a real coach, this franchise will be doomed forever.

Oh yeah, and Bosh is so leaving it’s not even funny and what are they going to do then?

There. Everyone happy?

Seriously, there was a we bit of mud slung around these parts yesterday because, apparently, there isn’t enough ranting and raving and going off the handle to satisfy some of the screamers among you.

Guess what? There’s not going to be and if that’s not good enough, well, that’s not good enough.

What we do here is not yell and scream.

Yes, Turkoglu’s playing poorly; yes, sometimes the players don’t play well; yes, sometimes the coaching moves don’t pay off.

And you can get all your dander up and go nuts; I’m more of a big-picture, voice of relative reason and I simply don’t have the passion a lot of you do.

Sorry, but that’s not going to change.

What we do here is a bit complex.

I hope we inform and entertain a bit; give you some insight into why things happen (that those things often don’t agree with your opinion is not something I can control) and, perchance, give you a look at things you might not get.

The other stuff? Well, there are other places you can go to hear writers go off and you’re welcome to them.

I think we do all right here so I see no reason to change.

-

No, I don’t think they can catch Boston, in case anyone wants to ask again.

-

Tough week for Jose, no?

A technical foul the other day against Philly and the cut under his eye suggested perhaps his argument was valid.

Then last night he gets a questionable Flagrant I call while being smacked on the lip and some more blood is shed.

-

Sorry about the in-game thing last night. Wireless went kablooey and by the time I pushed buttons and reset things, swore a bit and turned a few things on and off (surefire technological methods for fixing things in my limited knowledge), the game was just about over.

I blame Super Dog.

-

Long flight ahead to San Francisco so I have no idea when we’ll get to comments and the like but I will. That’s after I get settled and perhaps find some for a coffee at the Buena Vista.

Remind me to tell you the Buena Vista story tomorrow morning, would you? It’s not bad but I’m pressed for time and space at the moment.

-

If you’re lying around today with nothing to do and have some questions, here’s where you send them to the mailbag. Please, though, limit rants to a couple of hundred words.

-

Comments

[Don W.]

Could not agree with you more on the changes to the starting line up. The only problem with this is can Jack run the second unit? Is he quick enough and can he pass well enough to keep the effort going from this group.
On the defensive end Wright and Jose will provide an upgrade to the starting unit. (Thats right Jose is a better defender than Jack--no question about it.) Over the last month I have got a sunburn through the set watching the opposition blow by Jack.

[Boko]

Antoine Wright? ~!@ #$% ^&* ()_ +|{ }:" <>? ! Is ten words short enough for you?

[Sammy]

Hey Doug. The Raps struggles might not be a bad thing after all, well at least for you. I think people like to log on and voice their displeasure much more when the team struggles. Anyways, I was just wondering what you thought about maybe not starting Turk at least for one or two games and going with a more athletic starting lineup and at the same time sending a message to him to wake up. Do you think it's too late in the season to try these types of moves?

[Blake Kennedy]

Starting Wright and Jose seems like a random move with no rationale behind it at all. Jose has been playing poorly for the past two months, and Wright has given us nothing on either end of the floor except a headache. So now we decide to start them?

One benefit: a starting lineup of Jose, Wright, Turkoglu, Bosh and Bargnani might be the least athletic starting lineup in NBA history. How are those slowpokes (Bosh excepted) going to be able to compete? Especially when the first three are playing at such a low level? DeRozan has been more efficient at both ends of the floor all year than Wright has, so we banish a rookie to the bench just on a whim? Ridiculous.

[Andre]

I'm entirely surprised about how this team is playing. Very sluggish. This is a critical moment in the season, and its here, we will see how good a coach Triano is, and how the good of a leader bosh is. Hedo has been a HUGE disappointment, and im not sure what the coach, mangagement or anyone could do with him, maybe bench him? take him out of the starting line up? LIKE you said DOUG, change is a coming.

[Heath]

Hi Doug. Had to turn the game off before the half as the complete lack of rebounding, mainly on the defensive end was killing me. The Kings were getting 3-4 attempts on the offensive glass! Don't kids learn how to box out day one of learning the game? Is this an area of concern, among others, for the coaching staff?

[Penny]

Doug - any word on Marco? They may have said how he was on the broadcast last night but it was already really late and after being up until 2:15 the night before, I probably missed it. If you think it's late when the team is out West, you can feel for us Maritimers as it's even an hour later here.

Blogger's note: No word, just got to San Francisco, won't know anything until tomorrow I'm sure

[Ted S.]

Doug,

Stay the course. It is what you do and you do it very well. It may be difficult for fans to resolve how passionate you can be about reporting, without being as passionate about the game results or individual performances like the fanbase. Let Dave kick the bees nest and solicit the rants. He writes with the edge and cuts that fans want to read from time to time - and does it well too. That's why many Raps fan start here at the Star/thestar.com for the coverage. If people need to vent and drop a few f bombs about the team there are other outlets available, but it is my bet that fans will keep coming back (despite the angst, frustration and disagreement) with the team, and at times, with the blog.
We need a few wins around here to change the mood.

[cb2]

hey doug,

glad to hear nothing serious happened last night, your in game blog was down so as a raptors fan naturally my first thought was to think the worst.

On to my question,
a lot of people seemed to think that 'adding' a player (i.e. reggie evans) was the key to getting our 'defense' around - but i guess its pretty evident that its not one player or coach scheme, but rather the players who need to commit to playing good D.

that said though, was Boston a good defensive team before garnet? or is KG one of those hall of famer's that does indeed change the entire defensive intensity of a team just by himself?

[Baester]

When you wrote tough week for Calderon, I at least thought you were going to speak to his horrible showing on the court of late. Outside of the New York game, he has been in a major slump. I am trying to understand the reasoning why he would start when defense is a major flaw currently. First, he's slumping against 2nd tier point guards, so why put him against better players? Second, the argument that Jose runs the offense better hasn't been the case lately (the Lakers game is a good example - how many consecutive three pointers were shot (and missed) in the 4th?). Jose is usually on with the 2nd line-up and has got some kind of fraternal connection with Amir. The advantages of having Jack in there is that when a play is broken or thwarted, Jack can at least create something by going to the rim - heck, he is shooting 58% so a jumper is statistically all right. Third, Jose-Turk-Bargnani must be one of the worst defensive line-ups in the league - they just don't get it done: the numbers prove it, history proves it. We've also heard Turk complain that he needs the ball in his hands more when he started alongside Jose. Having Jose in the starting line-up has never been successful this year, so why give it another try when we most need the wins?

[Frans]

re: Doug's comment of:
'I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the starting lineup in Golden State on Saturday wasn’t Jose Calderon, Antoine Wright, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. "

I would be very surprised if the above happened. Jose hasn't done anything to deserve a starting role. Jose will be over matched against starting point guards and I still feel that he helps the team best when he comes off the bench...his chemistry with the second unit is just starting to come together and the last thing you want is to mess that up. Triano has to stop playing Jose and Jack together...more often than not, it hasn't worked to our advantage. I think Hedo should get less playing time until he shows that he can contribute in a positive way. Does this mean he's out of the starting line up? Not sure. Weems has been playing well of late and probably should get more playing time. When he had a few stints on the starting lineup (when demar had a bum ankle), he did well...If Jose goes back to the starting lineup, then I have lost faith in the coaching staff's ability to judge effectiveness on the court.

[Anthony]

Hey Doug,
I read somewhere that Turk is playing with an ankle injury, as bad as this may sound I hope that's true because if he is healthy then it appears his motivation or focus is in question and I hope he isn't second guessing his decision to sign here long term.
I've just recently recovered from a bad ankle sprain from snowboarding and trust me it took at least 3-4 weeks to heal... however I would assume he would heal quicker since he would be getting treatment daily which I did not.
If we can avoid playing the Cavs, Magic or Hawks in the first round I like our changes to advance, Bosh needs a couple more games to get back in the flow.

[kelsey]

Just a really concerned Raptors fan, I mentioned a couple days ago. Its not only Turk's below average play, It his body language. Any sport or anything I do. I personally dislike people with negative body language. 60+ games and this guy is honestly a bust at this point.
I was glad for the pick up, but it hasnt panned out. Step backwards. Bad loss last night, Bosh hasnt played well and yes line up change is required. Turk needs less minutes. As season's ticket holder I feel I have the right to be a arm chair coach. Jay please dont leave He-dont Turk in long when he isnt playing good. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[chris]

Doug, two questions. Do you think....
- reggie's playing with lots of energy and doing good things out there, but having amir out there instead is better (or at least has been more successful for us)?
- the raptors AND demar may have both been better served if he came off the bench to start the season, and had the opportunity to develop against backups (and we could have had someone more seasoned in the starting lineup)?

Blogger's note: Amir's not necessarily better in every situation; and I think they handled DeMar just fine

[K Price]

Doug, with talk of changes possibly to the starting 5 any chance they finally remove Hedo from the starting 5 and let him come off the bench until he can start to play the way we brought him in for???

[S.M.]

Doug,

Are you not allowed to say anything TOO critical about the players and management decisions? Does it affect the kind of stories you have access to? You really don't think that Turk is an albatross around this franchises neck? He never deserved the kind of money he got from the Raptors. And he has still not proven that he is worth the money. He is absolutely atrocious...even in the games where he's been clutch, he's been mostly bad! That isn't BC's fault? What is preventing you from being critical?

[erc]

In yesterday's pre-game chat you opined that the Raps ' play as hard as they can every game....'.
I sincerely hope that was the kind of throw-away inanity we all sometimes let escape our lips when our minds are on other things.
You do some great things on this blog. I've learned from and enjoyed some of your descriptions of defenses and offensive sets. You work hard. You write well. Do not throw that kind of credibility away by spouting that, 'they work hard every game' kind of nonsense.
From what I've witnessed, Bosh plays hard almost every game. The rest? They are, indeed, eager little beavers.lol.
This team is not miles ahead of last year, they are deeper in relatively-talented-players-who-need-a-meeting-to-motivate-them-on-a-semi-regular-basis. Chicago isn't the best bet to miss the playoffs right now. We are.

[LeeZ]

That, my dear Douglas, was paaaaaaaaaaa-THETIC. I remember thinking to myself during the first half that the Raps were simply going through the motions. They could pretty much have anything they wanted, but instead of BURYING the Kings when they had the chance, they were content to not get their hair mussed up (I think Harold Ballard had these Raps in mind when he complained that Inge Hammerstrom could go into the corner with a dozen eggs and come out with nary an egg broken). Time and time again, Bosh settled for (and missed) outside shots. This is leadership? He's been back three games now, and it's not as though he missed half a season or something. He was talking all about how as soon as he came back he'd elevate his game and treat every possession with importance and this is playoff basketball now and yadayadayada. Well, he's done the exact opposite. Bosh has played great all year, but just when he's needed most, he's disappearing. Doug, is there anyone on the team, either a fellow player or coaching staff member, who has been known to get in his face about his reluctance to drive, his INTERMINABLE holding onto the ball and willingness to settle?

[James Online]

A group of Marco Belinelli fans made the drive over from San Francisco to watch the game in Sacramento. You can imagine how frustrating it was for us to sit through that game.

The Raptors fans from Toronto we sat with are completely discouraged with the team and the coach. "We're just numb," one of them told us. "We're used to this level of play in Toronto."

Triano just stays with his game plan no matter what, and when things start going really bad, like they did in the third quarter, he does not know what to do. Blank stares off into the distance. No game management skills. And going back to the same plan over and over without success.

There will be a group of his fans at the Raptors-Warriors game Saturday. We had a chance to see last year just how good Marco can be when given an honest chance to play. Fans here still lament the salary dump decision to send him to Toronto, though we thought the Raptors might be a good fit for his skills.

Any word on Marco's back? He told the trainer he was OK, but held an ice pack to the lower back for the last few minutes of the game.

Warriors' fans will give him a big ovation if he actually gets play Saturday.

[Jack]

Basketball is a reactionary game. You go with whoever is clicking. The problem with the Raptors is they stick to the same people in the end game, no matter what they did earlier in the game. The starters, sans DeRozan, will play at the end regardless of whether they stunk earlier or not. So if during the middle game, Johnson, Weems, Evans or Belinelli played magnificently, you won't see them playing the end game. It's the same old story. And if during the end game, the starters struggle, you won't see Triano replace them.
That's the problem.
And you know where it starts.

[Hope Caper]

Hey Doug, obviously I didn't hear the rest of the story. All I did was disagree on the impact the refs have on games, honest. OK just kidding. As to the Raps making changes I'm afraid I agree. They have had change all season due to injury so no biggy. This team needs to loosen up and get back to what they were doing before. They look very tight. Maybe a change helps with that.

[Fred]

was afraid to read this today and find out about your thoughts..

what was worse? now or november?

Blogger's note: November

[dc]

Jose Calderon seems to take a lot of hits and rarely gets the 'and 1' call. I've also noticed he is a regular protester/complainer to the refs when a call goes against him (all players these days complain, but Jose is more animated than most players).
Tim Donaghy alleged that he was able to predict the point spread differential of games, based on his insider knowledge of referee biases either for or against players, with 80% accuracy. In a 60 minutes interview, Donaghy alleged that the on-court and off-court behaviour and personalities of some NBA players was offensive to some referees, while other players were looked at as superstars. The refs have a difficult job, and give as honest an effort as they can, but at the end of the day they are human and dealing with enormous pressure. They may unintentionally miss calls on certain players and they may routinely give a superstar the benefit of a doubt. Donaghy also claimed that certain refs have outside connections with certain teams and cities which routinely leads to suspicious calls.
Both the FBI and NBA have investigated Donaghy and concluded that there is no reason to suspect his confession is misleading.
The refs have claimed Donaghy is a criminal and is not trust-worthy and refuse to comment further on his allegation of biases towards players.

Do you know of any famous players (past or present) that are looked to as 'bad boys' in the eyes of refs around the league? Could it be that Calderon simply has just never earned the admiration of the refs through all his years of hard play and soft defense?

[phil]

Jack's been our best player in CB's absence- to take him, his defensive capabilities, dribble penetration and leadership out of the starting lineup would be a few steps in the wrong direction. He's more than proven to us he deserves this role. Also, Jose has been most effective as our sixth man and I'd like to keep that going.

Starting Antoine Wright? Sure, if it's over Hedo. I know Jay will never do it, but he needs to make a bold move and send a message to Turk: "Pick up the slack, earn your reputation back." Other than that, I don't really see how Antoine Wright deserves to start over DeMar- I really think the rookie's defense is underrated. Even Sonny would be a gamble I'm willing to take.

Another tweak we'll probably never see- Amir starting over Bargs. Our starting lineup is offensively potent enough and Amir and Bosh is our strongest frontcourt defensively- why not give this combo a whirl?

All in all, as much as I'd like to be chasing the Eastern elite- we need to develop our guys effectively and not at the cost of giving our older underperformers more chances to "turn it around".

[steve]

I don't see how you think putting jose in the starting lineup will improve anything, having him play with turkoglu when jose clearly dominates the ball is only going to make turk's play even worse. Not only that but this idea that antoine wright is the team's best defender I'm not sure if I buy that, I think Derozan has played just as well defensively and at times I think antoine wright overplays on defense and ends up getting beaten due to his lack of speed