There are basically two types of players for Sam Mitchell. There are players he relates to and players he doesn't relate to.
For the latter, he makes little effort to put them in a situation to succeed, completely disregarding what they can do in favor of what he'd like them to do to help out the players he does like. This isn't the soundest coaching philosophy.
When Andrea Bargnani broke into the league, his play dramatically improved when Jorge Garbajosa started playing more minutes. They had some chemistry on the court, due to a friendship off the court. Watch Bargnani now.
Yesterday, at one point, you saw Bargnani on offense 13 straight times, and not once did he touch the ball. 13 times. He then got the ball and hoisted up a three, which ended up being flat. Two seconds later, he was on the bench.
How can you ask a big man to run the court, block shots, and rebound when you don't even let him touch the ball? You will notice that Will Solomon and Roko Ukic actually make an effort to pass Bargnani the ball once every other time down the court. With Jose Calderon, this is simply one of five of these freeze-outs I've witnessed this season.
If players like Chris Bosh and Calderon are making such an obvious effort to freeze Bargnani out, shouldn't a coach intervene?
No. Instead of coaching last night, every time the camera focused on Mitchell, he was trashing the play of player x, player y, and player z. He seems better suited as a commentator.
This club must make a decision now. After the talent and hustle upgrade, Bargnani's expecting to see the ball on offense, and if you've got Bosh and Calderon pulling a Jordan, freezing Andrea out, moving the ball to the side of the floor he's not while making it so embarrassingly obvious, you might have a problem on your hands.
It is a coach's job to draw up plays for their talented offensive players. In three years, Bargnani has never had a play drawn for him. Three seasons, and every point he's scored as a Raptor has been on an isolation, a post up, a spontaneous pick-and-roll, or a kick-out jump shot.
Has anyone ever set a screen to get him open, considering at the time he was drafted there were executives calling him the best shooting big man in the league already?
The situation mirrors the one in Detroit with Darko Milicic, where a coach doesn't get the player he wants, and then blames the general manager when he makes sure the player drafted struggles.
Sure, in hindsight, maybe Sam Mitchell probably feels bitter having to play Joey Graham, while Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay have turned into borderline all-stars. That doesn't give him the right to essentially throw Andrea's career down the tube.
Like with Milicic, Bargnani has been the target of criticism due to the players picked after him. Like with Milicic, Bargnani has gotten hate with the label of tough love from his coaching staff.
Unlike Milicic however, Bargnani has kept working. He didn't just give up and sulk like Milicic, but he kept on trying to improve.
How much longer can he keep trying when no matter what he does, his two best players and his coach seem hell-bent on making sure he doesn't touch the ball. Consider the value of Bargnani, and the offensive talent he possesses in comparison to Jason Kapono and Jermaine O'Neal. Look at this.
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