Can't make a shot, can't stop fouling; things have been better

Man, did I ever pick two good ones to miss on the road, eh?

Figure Cathal’s in with the Tall Foreheads today asking to do more soccer and less basketball because there’s more scoring from the Toronto team.

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

A curious case

No, I have no real idea what’s going on with DeMar DeRozan, who has dropped about four stinkbombs in a row.

He’s getting good shots, working hard on the offensive end, can’t buy a basket or an explosive scoring night.

But the alarmists out there need to take a pill when it comes to the level of over-reaction.

The kid’ll score again, he’ll make shots and get to the basket and things will be back to normal.

Yeah, 12-for-46 from the floor in four games is awful, no question; but it’s not like he’s all of a sudden lost the ability to play.

The young fella’s in his third season, there are going to be ups and downs. He’s in a down; the ups will come back.

And listen to Dwane after last night’s game, he gets it:

“He shot 4-for-16 and like most young players it carried over to the defensive end. We can’t let that happen. There are going to be nights when you’re not going to shoot the ball well and you have to continue to attack the basket and go from there. But again, he’s a young player, he’s going to be up and down and I expect this. That’s who he is right now.”

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Fouls

If there is one thing that’s a bit of a concern it’s the propensity of this team to foul and all the problems that creates.

They foul more than any other team in league – 23.6 per game through the first 10 games – and that slows down games and keeps them from getting anything consistently in transition, obviously gives opponents a chance to score easy points and takes a lot of flow away from the game.

And the funny thing is, it’s not one guy.

In 10 games, only one Raptor has fouled out so it’s not as if there are one or two guys getting themselves in foul trouble every night.

Sure, it’s nice that they are playing aggressive defence and trying to get up into people but it’s got to stop. Maybe they’ll figure it out, maybe they’ll find a way to defend the way they want without the unnecessary fouls – and here’s hoping they learn to set better screens so they don’t get four or five offensive fouls per game – but it better happen soon.

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Time to change?

All kinds of calls for Rasual Butler’s removal from the starting lineup given his recent shooting woes.

(Guess the New York game was too long ago for anyone to remember)

Not yet.

Sure, he’s going bad right now but he’s got to play and try to play through it, at least for the next little while. They aren’t nearly deep enough at the three and I’d rather have him start and play eight or nine minutes each half while James Johnson gets the bulk of the minutes than vice-versa.

Maybe when Kleiza’s back and fully up to game speed you might consider a change but for now you live with what you got and hope, like DeRozan, Butler comes out of whatever funk he’s in.

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And …

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Hmm.

Leaves have won four straight (or so I’m told), HOTH have dropped three of four (two roadies in a rather alarming manner) and it gets a guy thinking:

Maybe the Pro Sports Gods have decreed that only one of the Maple Leaf Sports teams can be good at one time?

Kinda sucks for the soccer and the minor pucks, neither of whom may ever be going well under my theory, but it makes as much sense as anything, right?

Gives one group of fans a chance to crow; gives another group of fans a chance to practice their angst and what’s better for a city than one up and one down? Covers all emotions and makes sure guys and gals in the media have both good and bad to talk about daily.

Works for me.

Speaking of …

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Teee-boooowwwwwww!

(Just haven’t done it in a couple of days, that’s all).

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Yeah, it’s that time again.

And, again, with games Friday and Saturday, not sure when the mail’s actually going to get done this weekend but it will.

So send stuff here, okay?

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Every month I curse Rogers when I have to give them so much money but credit where it’s due.

You know me and the Oshawas of the National Basketball League: I think they’re in tough in a difficult market with a good product not enough people are taking the chance to see.

Well, if you read this, you’ll see they're getting some help from Rogers to get people in the building later this month and it’s a good thing.

I still say you people in those NBL cities should give your teams a chance and the way to build awareness of the league isn’t through guys like me; it’s through local deals that speak to local fans through the local media and give Oshawa some credit for a unique idea.

Get tickets, folks out there; I bet you go back a second time.

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Yes. IGBT tonight. Be here about 7; come for the hoops, stay for the surprise appearance by The Most Beautiful Woman Ever.

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Comments

[JHP]

Happy Wednesday and rumor has it the sun will come up later this morning. I'm a lttle disappointed seeing the slow start for the younger players and was hoping the veteran players would have helped mediate some of this. But of course most are on 1 year contracts and may not feel obligated to get involved. Your thoughts?

Blogger's note: Or they'd feel extra obligated to do well so they get future contracts

[Matt M]

Ella Fitzgerald is coming tonight?

[doug]

DD is no different then the baseball player that is in a 2-30 slump, it comes and goes, he will be fine and Casey is saying the right thing, you can't allow this to destroy the kid's confidence, plus DD has worked hard so for this to happen has to be disheartening for him...just have to ride him through it...Bayless and Kleiza can't come back soon enough, won't make us a playoff caliber team but will at least give us some depth and Casey some options....the amount of to's last night was also astounding, i have never seen Jose so cavalier with the basketball maybe seeing Rubio rubbed off on him in a bad way...he's best when he plays his methodical calculated game....

[john]

My Mom?

[sam]

The Raptors are a bit of a tease, aren't they. Get hammered in Philly, then come out and play great against the Wolves - Then there's last nights game. Pehaps the HOTH had a look at the Wizards record and coming off a solid game the night before cam into play. Or the Core logging big minutes and late night travel was the culprit. Not great excuses, but the mental mistakes and turnovers killed the Raps last night. They need to see more offence from Butler or I'm afraid he will become 2012 Raptors whipping boy. I'm not certain the Return of Linas is going to have the impact some think - but it would be good to have Bayless coming in off the bench for some additional scoring...
Let's all hope for a better effort tonight

[JHK]

No comment on Barbo's performance?
Just as dreadful to watch as Butler's I would say.

[sportschick]

Wow, you certainly have picked the right games to miss! Which other games are you missing this season?

I had forgotten about that Leaves/Raptors ad. That was a good one. Other ones from around that era showed the Raptors out visiting people. One of HWSNBN at a couples' house, and Kevin Willis playing with a bunch of kids.

Blogger's note: Not missing many for the foreseeable future, that's for sure

[LeeZ]

Diane Lane? (my 18-year-old son would say: Rachel Bilson?)
Yes, DD's offence will return, although his reverting to some of his old mechanics (flinging the ball from behind his head with extremely little arc) has to be a bit troubling. What really bothers me is his ATROCIOUS defence. He is being blown by on a CONSISTENT basis. His lateral movement on defence is horrible; he seems totally incapable of keeping his man in front of him. I think that on any other team, i.e. one with more than two offensive weapons, DC would be sitting him down, but he pretty much has to keep trotting him out there, hoping for the offence. It's very troubling to me that while all the other Raps have improved their defence considerably (José and Drea to name but two), Demar has, if anything, taken two steps back.

[AT]

It was a great night, Leaves win, Raptors lose. I am quite content to see the Raptors have a good game now and then, but can't lose sight of the big picture.The more they lose the more they have a chance to be better next year.
Doug, you have made your stance pretty clear about tanking but I am sure that how they are playing so far will not sway BC one bit to make any changes to this team this year (unless there is an opportunity too good to pass on). This really is a good year to be a Raptors fan, the occasional win is great but the losses this year are really wins for this organization.

[Canadian Paul]

Doug, "you’ll see their getting some help" should be "you’ll see they're getting some help"

Blogger's note: Yeah, thanks

[Kerry O]

Doug, not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but does this "most fouls in the league" thing perhaps go back to that "no respect from the refs" thing from a ways back? Granted, I haven't been able to see the majority of games so I'm not sure if these are mostly ticky-tack fouls or clear violations.

[The J]

Anyone else missing the lockout right about now?

[frankl]

Michelle Pfeiffer is making a guest appearance? (I keed)

[Lorie]

Seriously, guys. Your guesses are sooooo predictable! And decades off base. Have you forgotten Our Favourite Beat Grunt is a Man Of A Certain Vintage? So, Doug - Betty White's a hoops fan? :)

[sam]

it's a picture of Grace Kelly. She,s been with us all season

[Pipit]

Lot of this young guys (DeMar and Ed Davis) are very lucky that the Raptors draft them. Seeing them playing poorly most of the time and still logging considerably a lot of playing time. This won't happen on a lot of other teams. They will be frozen in the bench and no chance to showcase their limited skills in the big stage. Agree with Doug in inserting Leandro as the 2nd string point guard. Carter is not even a serviceable back-up. Rasual should come off the bench. Insert Johnson for now in the starting lineup. He deserves it since he's playing exceptionally well in the defensive end. Dwayne should experiment in getting 3 bigs if the small forward position still cannot deliver. Let Andrea, Amir and Ed Davis play together with 2 smalls. Andrea can play the small forward position. No issues in terms of opponents running them down since Amir and Davis can run. Amir can knock the occasional mid-range shot which leaves Davis going for the offensive rebounds.

[jc]

Hey Doug,
Funny you should write this today (allthough well timed). I was going to write in a few games ago with concern about derozan's game. Just before he had his breakout 5/5 (from 3) game against Cleveland, he had a couple of 4/12 nights. The concern was not that he missed shots but that he reallllly missed shots (airballs, front rims). Now the Cleveland game looks like the aberration. I realize there's not really an answer to this other than wait for things to get better. BTW, for those wanting to yank Butler, Mr Chisholm at TSN gives a good alternate view (http://tsn.ca/blogs/tim_chisholm/?id=384687). Hope that's not a conflict of interest....everybody's owned by the same company these days anyways, no?

[Al]

Doug, you always love to compare basketball to other sports (scoring, community-work, size of players, whatever).

Well here's one for you: What other sport has the same level of excuses for players not playing well? It seems in bball there's always an excuse: He's young. He's tired. He's only been in the league 3 years. He's streaky.

The bottom line is, these guys are supposed to be PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES. Those two words have specific meaning. Professional means you show up and do your job, for which you are being paid. Athlete means you have at the very minimum the strength and stamina to play a game for 48 minutes every couple of nights.

Frankly, the level of both professionalism and athleticism, not just on the Raps but across the NBA, is pretty weak. Back to back games too much for you? Well, maybe you shouldn't be on a professional sports team.

[Rob.V]

The J - well said!
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Last nights game should be a reminder of how the fans are (indirectly) being cheated by the NBA and the NBAPA (and lock out) this season.
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Attemtping to cram as many games as possible into a very short period of time all in the name of revenue is good business!... but dissapointing if you're a fan.
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The league and the Raptors should look to do something to take care of their season seat holders (right, like that will ever happen). The poor play is evident and the inconvenience of having to mange 5 homes games over a 10 day span is ridiculous when you consider some fans will drive a couple of hours to each game.
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Look, there are no excuses for last night however when you're playing your 4th game in 5th night (with travel to boot) should we expect more?
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Someone mentioned yesterday to me that the back to back to back should have been 3 home games.
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In theory that makes sense however boy am I glad that I could at least watch that train wreck from the comfort of my living room rather than having to travel to the ACC... geez!
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DeRozan??. Someone's got to get inside his head (maybe that someone should be DeMar DeRozan). I dont care if you're 0-99... slouching your shoulders and crying to the refs about non calls is "never" going to lift him out of his slump. Hopefully he'll learn something about the mental side of the game through all of this.
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Kids got to chin up, tough it out, and keep working hard... thats it!
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Coach (if you read here). I know you're competetive and want to win... but lets not foget the other (10) bodies sitting beside you during a tough schedule like this past week. Wating until the 4th quarter is a moot point, no? It was obvious by the middle of the 2nd quarter what our fortunes were going to look like last night.
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NBL? I Love this Game!!
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Was up in London last weekend and took in my first NBL game, was pleasantly surprised. Good game, good team. Kids played hard!!... great event and product!
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We should all get out to support this league!

[Tim]

Anybody else here a TrueHoop reader? They've got a post on the Raptors, Dwane Casey, and Andrea Bargnani today, and they link to a larger article on Hardwood Paroxysm that goes into a bit more depth on them.

I point it out because it's really refreshing to see the Raptors get some attention at ESPN. So often, the other team is the story: Kevin Love had an off night, or the Wizards finally get a win, or whatever. I don't usually complain, because I get it -- there's no reason for them to give a weak Toronto team much attention. Plus, I know where I can go to get quality Raptors coverage (Hi Doug!). Still, it's nice to see.

[Peter]

Can't wait to see Carrie Underwood on the IGBT tonight!!! Sweet!!

[GM]

I have no concerns at all about DeRozen or Butler or Barbosa. Of the three, though, I am less optimistic about Butler just because I thought he was done last season. Hasn't played well in at least one full season and he's pretty old. The other two I chalk up to slumps. I've never seen Barbosa play so poorly but I have confidence he will. He's still quick, still got a nose for the hoop. DeRozen is just in his own head too much. That'll pass.

I have no issues with Butler starting but I don't get your reasoning (better he start and play 8 or 9 minutes a half with JJ getting the bulk of the minutes). Since when is it a given that starters get fewer minutes than bench guys? Couldn't JJ start and still get the bulk of the minutes while Butler gets 8 or 9 minutes at other points of the game?

Blogger's note: Probably

[Tim H.]

"stay for the surprise appearance by The Most Beautiful Woman Ever."

Super Wife, of course?

[Binder]

Spending the winter in Florida. catching the Raps on the NBA pakage. None of the games so far have been brodcast by the Raptors announcers. I am getting different opinions on each game, but what remains constant is the high praise Bargs is geeting from every brodcast team.

[SheikYurbouti]

I'm certainly nowhere near ready to give up on DeMar like many knee-jerks I've seen on other sites, especially given his reputation for being a gym rat working hard on his game. That should eventually result in improving his shooting mechanics more consistently. His low post work and strength could also be vastly improved though hard work in the gym. The most disconcerting weakness is his dribbling/ball handling skills. He doesn't need to be PG level, but one would think at this stage of his life/career that he'd be better in this basic basketball skill, especially one needed so much for a SG. I don't know if he needs to spend all his free time walking around dribbling the ball wherever he goes to get more of a feel, or it's just not within the realm of his capabilities. I hope it comes around or else he won't even be a serviceable starting SG in this league.
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@GM
Continually starting Butler puzzles me as well. Both my be stretches, but I can think of two possibilities to explain it.
1. Coach wants Butler in there to start in hopes he gets the 3 pt shooting the team so desperately needs from the wings. If he's on, he gets more minutes and it helps the team run the offense that they would like.
2. Coach sees Johnson as the second team 3 when Kleiza gets up to snuff, or even moving forward with someone else, unless JJ develops much better offensive skills along the way.
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It seems part of coach Casey's evaluation/development plan is getting players used to the role he sees for them in the future and seeing how they perform in that role. An example would be keeping Andrea out there playing huge minutes even in garbage time, which I know we've seen at least once. He has stated that he wants to condition Andrea for being able to perform during crunch time when he's dog tired.