Before we talk about the Sixers mathcup tonight, let’s discuss the change in the starting lineup that Sam Mitchell announced yesterday: Rasho Nesterovic starting and Andrea Bargnani going back to the bench (a move my friend E predicted yesterday morning!).Sam says it’s designed to help the Raptors get into a good first-quarter groove, and not get stuck trailing early like they have the last three games. Doug Smith of the Star speculates it’s because when Bargnani and Bosh are both on the floor together, they’re taking away from each other’s games; since ideally, they both play best setting the high screen and roll with Ford or Calderon.

It’s hard to disagree, as it’s obvious they are both struggling, and since everything worked so well with Andrea coming off the bench last season. But if this really is the case… isn’t this a serious problem!? Your two best players can’t play together? I think the Raptors need to sort this one out, pronto!

As for the Rasho move, well, again, I can’t disagree that the team needs something to wake it up in the first quarter. And as everyone knows, I’m a huge Rasho fan - I think he deserves more minutes, I think the Raptors need to give him more minutes. As I said to E, yes, he’s overpaid, but he’s also strangely underrated. Can you be both at the same time? I don’t know but I think that if he only made $5 million and played 22 minutes a night, people would be saying he’s a steal!

So, while I’m a huge Andrea fan, and while I think your best players should generally start ballgames… this is probably not a bad move. And look at San Antonio, the way they bring Ginobili off the bench… sometimes you need to have a great offensive player coming off the pine to provide that spark.

Overall, though, I wonder if it’s possible that the Raptors are playing too many guys? I tend to think that you should go eight or nine deep, and that’s it. Basketball is a rhythm game, guys need to play, to get shots, to stay in rhythm. Especially a jump-shooting team like the Raptors. I wonder if it’s time for Sam to shorten the rotation a little? I definitely think he needs a more consistent rotation. This whole “we play the best guys on any given night” thing never works - your best guys are always your best guys, even if they’re having an off night.

Look at Orlando the other night. They had 3 guys play 35+ minutes - Bogans, Lewis, Turkoglu - and Howard played 33 only because of foul trouble.

The Raps had Bosh at 38 and Bargnani at 35 exactly. Kapono - he of the 3-11, 1 rebound, 0 assist, 0 steal night - was inexplicably the only other player over 30 minutes (33).

Maybe Bogans, Lewis and Turkoglu were a little tired at the end, but they were in rhythm, and each knocked down shots down the stretch. Maybe longer, more consistent minutes, with the same guys playing with each other, would raise the comfort level and help Parker, Bargnani, Delfino and Kapono settle down a little.

Here’s how I would break it down:

Bosh 39
Rasho 16
Kapono 27
Parker 32
Ford 28

Bargnani 36
Delfino 28
Calderon 20
Dixon 14
(Total 240)

Maybe you bring Hump in for some of the Bosh/Bargnani/Rasho minutes depending on matchups and foul trouble.

As for the rest: Garbo - much as I love him - isn’t bringing enough to the table; and Joey G, well, what does he do that Delfino doesn’t do? (Oh, right - make stupid mistakes…)

Here’s the main thing - never, ever, EVER - with the exception of bad foul trouble or a blowout - should both Bosh and Bargnani be on the bench at the same time. That’s rule #1. They are the two best offensive options on the team, the offense should always revolve around them. One or the other should ALWAYS be on the floor.

Along the same lines, Kapono and Bargnani shouldn’t both be on the bench at the same time either. Keep a deep threat on the floor at all times. (And if Kapono, Bosh and Bargnani are all on the bench, well…)

I think sometimes the concern as a coach - and definitely as fans- is if a guy misses a shot or two, to replace him with someone else. But sometimes you gotta let guys ride it out. You gotta let guys find their rhythm. You also have to let players play together, to develop that chemistry. And, mostly… you gotta let your best players play. OK, so maybe Bargnani misses a couple shots. The odds of him making a big play, even when he’s struggling, are greater than the odds of Humphries making a big play, even if Hump’s having the game of his life.

So I hope that’s what the Raps do moving forward - keep it to a consistent rotation. Whether Andrea starts or not, hopefully, doesn’t matter - I hope it doesn’t affect his confidence - it’s what you do in the minutes you’re given, right, so as long as he plays well when he’s on the floor, everything should be fine.

Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 6:53 am and is filed under Coaches, General Raptors, Players.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.