All right, it’s been a busy couple weeks in the personal life, but things are rolling for the Raptors. Five straight wins? Two of them against playoff teams? Outrebounding the opponent in every single one? Not bad, not bad at all!

Of course, it’s ultimately meaningless since the playoffs are a practical impossibility and other than Orlando, none of these teams are particularly talented; Oklahoma City, the Clippers, Chicago and Milwaukee are all under-.500 teams, and only Chicago is playing meaningful games. And let’s not forget that right before this little streak, this team lost nine of 10, including two absolutely disgusting stink-bombs to the Bobcats.

But, there is something to be said for finishing on a positive note, especially for a guy like Jose Calderon, who’s playing extremely well after playing poorly for 60 games. If he can play like the Calderon of last year for the final few weeks games and get his confidence up for next year, that’s huge; it’s never a good thing to have a bad year and then have nothing but negatives to think about for a whole summer.

Same can be said about Bosh, and even Marion; both are playing well after having bad stretches. Meanwhile you’ve got guys like Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu playing for contracts, their play of late has probably ensured they’ll at least be in the league next year.

Then there’s Andrea Bargnani. Has any one Raptor ever had such a big turnaround in a single season? I mean, the home crowd was booing this guy in December when he missed free throws! Now he’s become one of their most effective all-around players and a go-to guy? Unbelievable, but true. Check out these stats:

December: 24 MPG, .346 FG%, .273 3PT%, 3.4 RPG, 8.6 PPG
Jan-Feb: 36 MPG, .454 FG%, .420 3PT%, 6.5 RPG. 18.9 PPG
March: 33 MPG, .518 FG%, .519 3PT%, 5.9 RPG, 20.3 PPG

And the numbers don’t even tell the whole tale. For one thing, he’s added (or if not added, is suddenly using) things we haven’t seen before – pump-fakes, crossovers, pull-ups – and the latter is most significant since it’s helped him avoid all those charges he used to get called for.

On defense, he’s not picking up as many cheap fouls (except for the Orlando game, where he was brutalized by the referees) and his defensive improvements that we saw earlier in the year, in terms of moving his feet and boxing out, have remained solid.

He’s certainly not perfect – he’s still averaging 1.75 turnovers to only 1.1 assist, and he could definitely get those rebounding totals a bit higher – but the improvement in only a few short months is remarkable. I remember back at the end of January, when the improvement first became evident, we all said, “let’s wait to see him do consistently for a while before we say he’s back on track.” Well, it’s been almost three full months of solid, consistent play, so I’m saying it. He’s here, he’s on track, he’s doing what we need, at the position he is best suited for, on a regular basis.

Of course, for most of those three months, the Raptors were routinely terrible so it’s hard to say his improved play has had any impact. But once again, it’s a huge positive going forward, and as we all know, Bargnani is probably the only player that is guaranteed to be here next year, so his improvement is a definite positive.

As for what this team might look like… who knows? It’s pretty much all up in the air. Bargnani will be back; I think Calderon will be too. Ukic, Humphries, yes; maybe Pops. But Bosh? I think Colangelo will talk to him and unless he’s convinced that Bosh will re-sign, I think BC will quietly try and move him. If he goes, Colangelo had damn well ensure that one or both of Marcus Banks and Jason Kapono are packaged with him.

I suspect Graham will be gone; I like Joey, but let’s be honest, he hasn’t really worked out here. I think he deserves a chance to give it a try somewhere else.

Parker is a big mystery. I love the guy, you know that. But he can’t be the starting two guard on this team, he can’t be playing 35 minutes a night. He’d be a great steadying influence off the bench… you know, provided there are actually quality starters ahead of him. If you can bring him back for two years at 1.5 per year? I’m OK with that.

Marion? Well, what’s his value? Who knows? Anyone have any interest in him? I still think he thinks he’s worth a lot more than anyone else does. I have no interest in him at anything more than 6 million a year. And even then, that interest is tempered by what else is out there; in other words, if there’s anyone better to throw that money at, we need to be aware and not just give it to Marion.

There’s also Carlos Delfino to consider. The Raps still have his rights. I like Delfino; I didn’t think he was utilized well last year. Mitchell jerked his minutes around too much, and he never had the opportunity to initiate the offense, something he’s proven in international play that he can do. I think with consistent minutes and a better defined role, he’ll be much more effective, and he won’t feel the need to jack up threes. But how much is that worth? 4 mil, maybe 5… anything above that, I’m not biting. Not in this economy.

Anyway, there’s only a couple of weeks left, then we can forget about the Raps for a while we watch what should be an exciting 2009 playoffs. Come June we can start to think about what’s gonna happen this summer.

For the next few games, let’s just hope they’re as exciting as the past few!

Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Shawn Marion, Toronto Raptors

Word up: Jose is in, according to Matt Devlin.

I really, really, really hope he’s healthy and is back for good. I can’t handle any more 20-turnover games. If he comes back too soon and aggravates it again… well then it’ll be time to fire the training staff. Seriously.

Still, looking at the lineup tonight… Calderon, Parker, Moon, Bosh and Bargnani… backed up by O’Neal, Graham, Kapono, Voskuhl and Ukic… well, that’s the most complete lineup the Raptors have had since their west coast trip.

Does it translate to a win tonight, or any more wins in the coming weeks? Probably not.

First of all, Calderon and O’Neal gotta shake the rust off, and everybody’s gotta get used to playing with them again.

Then, you gotta deal with the O’Neal vs. Bargnani starting situation. Once O’Neal is back in the groove, how long is he gonna be happy sitting on the bench? How will Bargnani play, looking over his shoulder at O’Neal. His shot has already faltered a little lately…

Of course, of O’Neal gets traded first, then that doesn’t matter, but bringing in a new guy also creates an issue of guys needing time to adapt and gel with each other… and anyway, until that happens, the trade rumours surrounding the team right now have gotta be weighing on them.

Distractions, rust, playing time… not good issues for a struggling team to be dealing with.

But, as I’ve been saying, I don’t believe any of it ultimately matters for this season. Still, I’ll be happy to have the full team back (well, minus Hump) and hopefully healthy and gelling. That should at the least make the games more fun to watch.

Tags: Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors

Slow day at work, so here’s a couple thoughts on the goings-on of the day.

First up, Alonzo Mourning has officially retired.

Excuse me if I don’t shed a tear.

Raps fans have a hatred for Zo that I believe is only topped by their hatred for Vince Carter. To recap, Carter was traded to New Jersey for Zo - who was unhappy in New Jersey and wanted out - as well as the Williams Brothers and two draft picks. It also cost them highly touted Jerome Moiso (waived), who was just about to find his groove with the Raps!! Um, just kidding about the last part.

(What was the biggest shame was that Alvin Williams was too hurt to play and Jerome Williams had been traded a year earlier. I mean, all they had to do then was trade for one more Williams and they could have had a lineup of five Williamses on the floor, and that would have been the greatest moment in Raptors history. Alas.)

That trade looks pretty bad as it is but what made it worse (the worst trade in the NBA this decade, in fact) was that Mourning refused to play in Toronto. In fact I don’t know if he ever actually came to Toronto. He wanted to be traded, yes, just not here.

So, you’d think, if you were the Raptors, you’d confirm with him that he’d play before pulling the trigger, especially since he was the only player of value in the trade coming this way.

But, no, that didn’t happen. Actually, rumour has it, it did: Sir Rob Babcock did indeed ask - and Zo confirmed he wouldn’t play - but BABCOCK STILL MADE THE TRADE.

Now, you’d think at this point, the Raps would play hardball and force Mourning to report, and if he didn’t not pay him, as is their right under the collective bargaining agreement.

But, no. They let him sit out - in Miami - and never even tried to make him join the team. In fact as I recall he never even had to take a physical to prove he could play, and thus couldn’t even be fined for not playing.

Now, you’d think, OK, here’s a guy that won’t play for us, he wants to play somewhere else so he’ll accept a bargain buyout and we’ll go our separate ways.

But, no. The Raptors offered to buy him out FOR THE FULL VALUE OF THE CONTRACT. He never played a game for the Raps, still collected his ENTIRE paycheque from us, and then went on to help the Heat win a title.

So, you can understand why Raps fans don’t like the guy. There was no reason for him to act like such a prima-donna; especially mere months after saying he wanted to play with Jason Kidd in Jersey, he could have rehabbed his image by coming to TO, teaming with Jalen Rose and mentoring Chris Bosh and (ahem) Rafael Araujo. Instead he acted like a prick and never even showed up.

And if - as he claimed - it wasn’t about the money, but rather about going somewhere to win a title - he would have simply accepted a minimum buyout to be set free. But he took the full amount! It was nothing but highway robbery.

Still, as big of a jerk as he was to the city of Toronto… the blame really is on Babcock here. First of all, this was a terrible trade, even with Mourning; he could have done better. Second, Babcock enabled the situation. He didn’t force Mourning to report when he could have. He waived the physical. He paid the ridiculous buyout.

Why would he ever, in a million years, do this? I don’t know. I understand he was blinded by the fool’s gold of the draft picks and made the trade despite Zo’s refusal to play. But at the least, you don’t pay the guy FULL AMOUNT and allow him to go help another team! The purpose of a buyout from the team’s perspective is to save a little money. If you’re going to pay him the full amount anyway, you may as well keep him on your team so he can’t help someone else!

Anyway, the point of this tirade was to suggest that it be Babcock, not Mourning, that deserves the brunt of your hatred. Yep, Mourning was an ass for refusing to report. But Babcock was a much bigger ass for A) making the trade in the first place and B) not taking a harder stance with Zo.

Also, SI Grades the Raps

This afternoon also saw this rather harsh grade - and harsh reality - of the Raptors season from Steve Aschburner of SI.com:

Toronto Raptors: It’s not easy to earn a grade this harsh. You would need to underachieve dramatically, abruptly fire your recent Coach of the Year (Sam Mitchell), have a showy offseason move (trading for Jermaine O’Neal) blow up in your face, turn your lone superstar into a cranky finger-pointer who might want out, cope badly with a key injury (Jose Calderon), run off a string of losses and drown in trade rumors a month before the NBA deadline. Ladies and gentlemen, your … Toronto … Raptors! Grade: F

Good times. My grades from a week ago were a smudge higher, but really, I can’t disagree with him at all. Although, he also forgot to mention “trot out the worst collection of swingmen in the NBA every game,” as well as “bring in two guys who washed out of the NBA years ago (Adams and Solomon) as your only off-season free agent pickups.”

Oh, hey, and guess what the only other team to get an “F” was? That’s right, the Clippers. Remember when everyone thought we’d be Phoenix North? Turns out we’re Clippers North.

Yep… really good times.

Remember when Young MC rapped, “well you got no money and you got no car, then you got no woman, and there you are”?

Well we got no swingmen and we got no D, so we got no winning, and here we are.

Here we are.

Tags: Alonzo Mourning, Toronto Raptors

Quick correction to my last post about Vince Carter. I somehow neglected to include Game 6 of the 2007 Playoffs, which was, until the November 21st game, the best game between these two teams since the trade. Perhaps the end was too painful and I blocked it out. Carter had another average game, 6-19 for 21 points in the Nets’ one-point win.

Anyway, I’ve updated my spreadsheet and here are Carter’s stats against Toronto, including Game 6 and this past weekend’s games:

44.6% FG, 36% 3FG, 68.5% FT, 6.5 R, 4.5 A, 23.7 PTS in 23 total games. New Jersey with a 13-10 record.

And his total stats as a Net, through Monday’s game:
45% FG, 36.9% 3FG, 80.4% FT, 5.9 R, 4.7 A, 24.2 PTS. 317 games played.

So, again, virtually identical. I think I’ve made my point here, though I’m sure I’ll be forced to bring it up again when the Nets come to town in January… but Carter’s no different against the Raps than he is against anyone else.

Of course, in the one stat that really matters, he’s got 3 more wins against the Raps than we have against him - and I hope that we can get one more this year.

Tags: Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter

Well, the pre-season is all but over, just a couple practices to go before the real games start, one week from today.I can’t wait!

I’d feel better knowing whether or not I’m going to be able to see all the games this year, but, hey, making the game accessible to fans isn’t important, is it? I’m still pointing these two middle fingers at you, Rogers, MLSE and TSN. See them? Good.

Anyway, I have a few thoughts about the state of the team as the exhibition season closes down. First of all, I’m very concerned about the, ahem, shortness of the bench. There’s Bargnani. There’s the remains of the Kapono-Moon-Graham triangle. And there’s Humphries. Not game-breakers but serviceable backups.

Then… there’s Will Solomon and Roko Ukic, neither of whom has exactly stood out in the preseason. Both have shown some questionable decision making and a tendency to succumb to full-court pressure. And we’ve got Hassan Adams, who can play D but can barely throw the rock in the ocean. Then there’s… hmm. Well, I guess that’s it.

Wait… that’s it!? Yikes, that is a short, and not exactly stacked, bench. Nathan Jawai is still out indefinitely with his heart problem (and he’s still too raw to contribute anyway), and Jamal Sampson, signed as practice fodder, is also hurt.

Is Calderon prepared to play 40 a night? He might have to.

Doesn’t having only four bigs worry anyone? O’Neal and Bosh have both had their injury problems - heck, last night O’Neal missed the second half with a back problem. Can you imagine having to start Hump and Bargnani, with no one to back them up? What if there’s foul trouble? Just look at last night… there was no interior defense to speak of.

I don’t know that I agree with this whole streamlined roster thing. The thinking behind it is, taking away some options should help Sam settle on consistent minutes for his guys, especially at the wing. I get the concept, but then why bring in Hassan Adams at the wing?? And Solomon? You know Sam’ll just be tempted to put them in as soon as Moon or Graham make a mistake. If you were gonna do that, why not ditch Joey, forget Adams and Solomon, and keep Delfino? Or instead of Adams, why not sign a big to shore up the foul trouble/injury defense - and to hack Dwight Howard every time they play the Magic, as they SHOULD have done last year?

Hey, I hope O’Neal and Bosh play 36 a night for all 82, obviously - but O’Neal couldn’t even make it through the pre-season. This short roster really could bite them in the ass. We all know how the “it was a disappointing season, but we had so many injuries” excuse goes - not far. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for health!

Meanwhile, the starting SF spot… I thought I was done with this, but then Moon decided to play like crap the rest of the exhibition schedule, and then Joey Graham came from out of nowhere to being this close to nabbing the spot. I think it’s safe to say that, if Joey Graham is looking like your best option, the 3-spot is going to be a HUGE problem this year!!

Come ON. Look, I can buy the argument for starting Moon over Kapono. But Joey?? Oh, man…

I’ve talked about this before, but I like Joey. He’s the guy I wanted at that spot in that draft, I was glad they took him instead of Gerald Green and Danny Granger. But that was then! Three years have proven that Joey just doesn’t get it (and also, that Danny Granger would have been absolutely perfect for this team. Alas). Joey’s an amazing athlete and a skilled basketball player, but the guy just doesn’t make the right decisions on the court. I wish he would get it, I have always wanted him to succeed, but after all this time, my hopes have been dashed completely.

I still think Kapono is the best option there.

Anyway, while I don’t deny the talent on this Raptors team, the pre-season showing has left me concerned about the make-up of the roster. It’s short and doesn’t seem to have the right personnel to fill the right holes. I’m trying not to make too much of what I’ve seen so far - after all, pre-season is pre-season - but it has to be a concern.

Tags: Jason Kapono, Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto Raptors

So, it’s 2-0! Yes! Awesome! Sigh.

Exhibition games are so meaningless. You can’t take anything good or bad from them, really. They’re essentially practice, just practice against other teams.

So I really can’t say anything about what we’ve seen so far. I’m disappointed that Moon is starting and Kapono is coming off the bench - I still believe Kapono is the better option. But again, pre-season is about working out the kinks and seeing what works and what doesn’t. By the end of camp, maybe I will see that Moon is the right starter, or Mitchell will see that Kapono is the right starter.

Early indications are Moon has been a disappointment… he’s out of shape and showed up late and hasn’t contributed much of anything in the two games. But, I have to defend the guy a little bit - and condemn the modern media for always being so quick to judge.

Even though I’d rather have Kapono start, it’s too early to make a blanket declaration that Moon doesn’t have what it takes. So, he’s struggled. But it’s two useless games and a week and a half of practice. Some out there are declaring Moon is resting on his laurels, that now that he’s made it to the bigs he thinks he doesn’t have to work anymore. I don’t buy it - yet. Give him a little time, give the coaches a little time to work with him. It’s disappointing, sure, but it’s not time to panic yet. Mitchell’s plan was to start Moon. Can you be sure that after two exhibition games that that plan isn’t going to work?

If he hasn’t picked up the slack by preseason game #5, maybe you start Kapono and see if that gets Moon’s attention. If he’s still coasting and out of sync by game #8, then there’s obviously a problem, but for now, give the kid a break.

(And my belief that Kapono should start is not slamming Moon, and I will not be happy if Kapono starts because Moon is struggling. I want Kapono to start because in my opinion, his offensive skills are better used in that starting line up and Moon’s defensive skills are better used in the second unit. But no matter who starts or sits, I want them both in shape, playing well, and in sync with their teammates!)

Anyway, you know what, I’m going to lay off the starting SF spot for now. I’m making myself tired with this debate.

Back to the meaningless games… well, I guess the one good thing you can take out of it, is that victories, no matter how small, always build confidence. Even if it’s just a little bit. You know the Raps players, coaches and management have to be happy that Bosh and O’Neal are playing well together, that Bargnani has played well, that Calderon has been solid.

But, the real thing is still three weeks away and there’s a lot of work to be done in the meantime.

Tags: Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Toronto Raptors

I don’t think I need to make my opinion of who the Raptors starters should be any clearer. But now word out of camp is that not only will Jamario Moon (most likely) be the starter at the three, but that Jason Kapono may start ahead of Anthony Parker at the two.Um… what?

Kapono has a hard enough time guarding threes, and most twos are even faster. And Parker is - not that this is saying that much, but it’s true - the best perimeter defender on the team! I don’t see how this helps, at all. In this order, these are your best options:

Parker and Kapono: Decent defense/offense combined with great offense.
Parker and Moon: Decent defense/offense combined with good defense.
Kapono and Moon: Great offense combined with good defense.

Let’s delve a little further into what I said the other day. With Moon out there, you’re basically playing four on five on offense. Yes, some teams get away with that… when you’ve got a Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman out there. They make up for their lack of scoring skill not just with their defensive presence, but they manage to contribute on the offensive end by setting screens, fighting for rebounds and loose balls, and getting second-chance opportunties with offensive boards. Moon doesn’t do those things; he floats around the perimeter and launches threes. At a .328 clip If you’re going to have someone doing that… why not make it the best three-point shooter in the league, who makes half of his attempts!?

I know it seems like I’m attacking Jamario, and I’m not. He is an above-average defender, he’s a fantastic athlete and he may have worked harder than anyone on the team to get to where he is. But until he learns to stop settling for jump shots and use that long stride and amazing leaping ability to get into the paint and draw fouls, he’s hurting the team on offense.

The value that Moon brings to the defensive end is far outweighed by the value Kapono would bring to the offensive end.

I also don’t buy into the “Kapono brings offense off the bench” argument. Kapono doesn’t create or generate offense - he feeds off of other players, specifically, low-post players and slashers kicking the ball out. (If Moon would drive, this might work, but alas…)

I’d rather have Moon coming off the bench to be a defensive stopper when an opposing player starts getting hot.

Sigh. Well, all I can do is hope that Sam Mitchell was just BS’ing the media when he said that, or that - like the out-of-left-field comment that Bryan Colangelo made about playing Andrea Bargnani at the three! - it was just an abstract thought, training camp speculation, nothing more.

(I also admit that I might be completely off-base and maybe the mix of Jamario defense and Kapono offense is the way to go - I don’t think so, but that’s why they play the games. And if that does turn out to be the case, I will happily admit that I was wrong!)

Tags: Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Toronto Raptors

If I had any regular readers, they’d probably be saying, “quit the video game and book BS, talk Raptors!” But there isn’t much to say right now. Our Olympians are getting their much-needed rest, and hopefully the rest of the team is starting to get back into shape, as training camp opens at the end of the month.

Here’s my quick-hit thoughts on each player at the end of summer:

Chris Bosh
Had a great Olympics, showed much-needed aggression on defence that hopefully stays in place, now that he’s got Jermaine O’Neal backing him up. I expect his usual solid offensive play, and I hope that, with O’Neal in there, it’ll ease the load on Bosh a bit and he’ll stay healthy for 80 games.

Jose Calderon
Had a mediocre Olympics, first with the Spanish coach yanking his minutes around and then with the groin injury. He should be fine by the start of the season. So the question will be if he can be the full-time QB of this team. I think he can, he’s a competitive player, he loves to win, and I think he’s the type to step up to a challenge - not the type to take it easy now that he’s got the fat coin.

Jermaine O’Neal
Apparently healthy and motivated, which is exactly what we need, O’Neal should be a major contributor this season. I expect he’ll miss some games, he’ll probably acquire a couple of minor injuries, but as long as he can stay away from the big ones, I think he’ll play 70 games. I’m most looking forward to his efforts on the glass and on defense, but also, I think he’ll be a big bonus on offense - there were too many times over the past couple of years where, if Bosh wasn’t in the game, the Raps had no where to turn to. O’Neal should change that.

Anthony Parker
I expect the vet to have another solid season. We need to get him more open looks - he’s money when he’s got an open shot, not so much when he has to create. He seemed to lose a step on D last year; hopefully with O’Neal and Bosh behind him, he won’t be hung out to dry so much on the perimeter this year.

Jason Kapono
Kapono’s a huge question mark, and it has more to do with Sam Mitchell than anything else. Kapono was disappointing last year, but I pin 99% of that on Mitchell. Can the coach devise any sort of scheme to regularly get Kapono shots? Can he have the patience to leave him in there even when he’s a defensive liability? Does he have the intelligence to recognize when he’s NOT a liability and get him back in there? Kapono can play, there’s no doubt of that. Will Mitchell let him?

Jamario Moon
Nice story last year, no doubt. But athleticism only gets you so far. Again, Mitchell is to blame for this; he left Jamario in through too many awful shooting nights, instead of getting him out of the game and trying to teach him when not to shoot. (He yanks Humphries as soon as Hump takes a bad shot. Why not Moon?). This year, Moon needs to stick to his abilities - slashing and playing D - and he needs to simply move that rock on offense. Unless he’s driving, the ball should NEVER stop with him.

Andrea Bargnani
A colossal disappointment last year, we’ve heard how he’s supposedly working hard this summer (including working out with O’Neal in Vegas). I hope those rumours are true because he needs it. In his first year, his lack of rebounding intensity and his poor footwork were hidden by his wicked shooting touch; he had no shooting touch last year and didn’t improve the other areas. He better have either gotten the touch back or improved his fundamentals, or better yet, both, otherwise he’s officially going to become a bust. I also hope he can accept his official designation as a bench player after starting much of last season.

Joey Graham
Well, what can you say about our man Joey. Possessed of one of the best NBA bodies you’ll ever see, topped off with a brain that is seemingly incapable of grasping the NBA game. I’ve rooted for him all along - he was the guy I wanted them to draft in that spot and I thought he’d be good. Will he finally get it this year? Who knows? I’ve just about given up on him. C’mon, Joey, prove us all wrong… please.

Kris Humphries
He’s got the energy and hustle, but like Graham, loses his had far too often. Unlike Graham, though, I think Hump has actually shown some improvements over the last couple of years. As long as he stays within himself - in other words, don’t force any shots, Hump - he can be a solid contributor to this team.

Roko Ukic
The great unknown. No one’s really seen him play although everyone says he’s a great young talent. He could be the next Jose Calderon or the next Vincenzo Esposito. Let’s hope it’s the former. Either way I’m looking forward to finally seeing him play!

Will Solomon
Transitioning back from Europe, essentially playing the part of the 06-07 Anthony Parker. Solomon’s put up some decent stats in Europe and college and seems possessed of the good all-around game the Raptors need backing up the one and two spots. Can he adjust back to the NBA, especially in a back-up role? It probably won’t be easy for him but I hope he can. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the table.

Hassan Adams
Played some decent minutes with the Nets a couple of years ago, hopefully he can bring something to the table in limited minutes. I don’t expect Adams to play too much, though obviously, I hope he does well when he’s in there. Like Solomon I think he’s a solid pick-up by Bryan Colangelo, a good all-around player who can help in more than just one way in the minutes he gets.

Nathan Jawai
OK, he’s probably even more unknown that Ukic. I don’t even think I have any analysis to give you. He’s a project, but hopefully, coming in and practicing against Bosh and O’Neal will help speed his development.

Sam Mitchell
I think if the Raps get off to another slow start Mitchell may be on the hot seat. Look, I like Sam - he can be very entertaining and he’s a good motivator, and as I’ve said many times, I value the continuity of having the same coach in place over the regular hire-fire-hire pattern of the NBA. But he was outcoached far too often last year. It is simply inconceivable to me that we had the best three-point shooter in the NBA barely attempt any threes between Christmas and the playoffs. The substitution patterns at the 2-3 spots were all over the place. Dwight Howard barely went to the foul line in the 4th quarter in the playoffs. Mitchell needs to settle on a rotation and make minute adjustments during games. Not the wholesale “well I think Jason’s got it tonight” or “we need Moon’s defense.” No. Find a rotation and stick with it. These are NBA players, not 12 year olds. Hopefully having a shortened roster does that for him…

Anyway, training camp is less than a month away! Can’t wait.

Tags: Chris Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal, Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors

I managed to see most of the game yesterday afternoon (even though I had seen the final score in the morning). I’m glad that Spain challenged the US and even though I always like to cheer for the underdog, I’m happy for the US.

If this team had played like the US teams played in 2002 and 2004 - miserable, sulking, like 12 individuals playing because they had to, not because they were proud to represent their country - I wouldn’t have wanted them to win.

But because this group played like a team, respected their opponents and the tournament itself, because (it at least looked like) they enjoyed the games and each other’s company - in other words, they earned their victory, not just with a hard-fought win but by playing and representing the sport the right way. I’m glad they won.

In fact it’s a delicious irony that Larry Brown often uses that exact same phrase (that he coaches his teams to “play the game the right way”), since it was his 2004 team that dropped a load in Athens.

As for Spain, they hung tough, and kept it closer than I thought it would be. Man, they move the ball well, don’t they? Their big men also have great hands - they corralled a lot of those little pick-and-roll slip passes in traffic that would bounce off the hands of most NBA big men.

It’s a shame Calderon couldn’t play because even though they were three-deep at point guard, obviously a guy with his experience could have helped in a big game like this. Surely he never would have fouled Kobe on that 3-point shot like Fernandez did! Alas, that was the turning point. But a great game overall.

I’m also glad that by all accounts Calderon’s injury is not severe and that he should be fine with a couple of weeks rest. Only a month until training camp!

Tags: Jose Calderon, Olympic basketball, redeem team

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