Bleacher Report - Toronto Raptors

Rant on NBA Referees: Can the Toronto Raptors Get a Call?

Stephen Brotherston — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:18:15 -0500

Since the home opener this season, the Toronto Raptors seem to be on the outs with the NBA referees.

I’ll admit to wearing a Raptors’ Fans Glasses. But it seems that when it matters, the Raptors are being held back by some highly biased NBA refereeing.

Not one to hog all the bitter complaining to myself, here’s a recent selection from this season’s refereeing rants.

Stevesraptors:

“@DeMar_DeRozan Raps Fans still made at Refs in Denver – Unfortunately you guys can’t afford to do that!”

DanRapsFan:

“Refs have given some great home court advantage for the Nuggets”

“Triano should get himself tossed on purpose for all of those Bosh non calls by the refs. WTF no call!”

LetsNBA:

“Welcome to the NBA, raps up 11 refs take over for the home team”

JJTO:

“F**k! The ref’s called a lot of bad fouls in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but no excuse to hang your head and drag your feet; no mental toughness…”

H to the Immo:

“You need to add ‘refs’ to the lineup. Here – I’ll do your writeup.

Refs – decided that Denver needed to get back into it in the 2nd quarter, resulting in 3 Donaghy’s. More of the same in the 3rd, as Denver was allowed a ridiculous number of fast breaks off non-calls on the offensive glass.”

Dave:

“The Raptors would have had a hard enough time beating just the Nuggets, but having to play against the Nuggets and the Refs they had no chance. During stretches of the game that I saw Bosh was called for goal-tending on a perfectly legal block, Jose was called for a foul on Carmelo when Anthony had clearly fouled Jose first and on and on.”

Waterboy:

“NBA refs are horrible, and players or coaches can’t speak up because they get fined if they do, why shouldn’t we as spectators speak up?”

“all i will say is, the first few games i watched of Toronto (including the cavaliers game) were full of extremely biased calls AGAINST the raptors, which hurts our team tremendously.”

Bogus:

“If you really wanted to get freaked out about the refs, read these excerpts from Donaghy’s book. If he’s telling the truth, it’s completely nuts”

creative1mm:

“well.. yesterday raps were doing fine until the referees made their little run and screwed up the game for them”

“like 4 bad calls in a row, mellow slaps the ball out of Calderon's arm then elbows Calderon then Calderon gets called for the foul.. that is BS”

Belsius:

“OK I'm f**king pissed. I don't know if Im being paranoid but to me, it looked like for that stretch of 4 minutes or so the refs really really wanted to make this game close. Making sure the Raptors didn't get away. 5 or 6 calls against us and none or way.”

brothersteve:

“Aside from Jack Armstrong’s weak (but NBA fine safe) comments that Bosh couldn’t get a call, the BOGUS ref calls in the first half kept the Nuggets in this game – A game the Raps were threatening to run away with.”

“Bosh was mad because the Raps were getting fouls for doing the same things the Nugs were doing to him for free!”

“The Refs made a blatant attempt to keep the Nugs in the game during the first half. Throwing a few foul calls the Raps way at the end when it was meaningless!”

Suns game: “The BOGUS charge on Bosh when the ref called the foul then waited until he could see who had hit the floor, Nash stands up and it’s a charge! Not to mention the last minute foul call on Nash’s drive – was that a foul or did the wind just blow through his uniform.”

The Raptors' fearless broadcast crews have never taken the NBA referees to task for blatantly bad calls over the years. Perhaps because they work for the Raptors they are, subject to the NBA’s wrath.

There needs to be more of an outpouring of disgust when bad refereeing costs the Raptors a game on the road.

When the Raptors are at home we can jeer with loud calls of B*LLSH1T from the stands! When they are on the road, the jeers need to come from writers and the posts!

No Mercy for the Refs on Friday Night. Come Ready to JEER.

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Toronto Raptors Player Updates: Bosh, Jose, Hedo...10 Games in

Stephen Brotherston — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:11:11 -0500

At the 10-game mark, the offseason rust should have finally disappeared from our favorite NBA players and teams should have started to “gel.” Individual statistics might still be skewed by some strange early season games but results should be starting to average out.

It’s time for an early review of how the Raptors’ players have rounded into form.

Jose Calderon

As each game passes, Calderon has been regaining that near all-star form of two seasons ago. After Finding his Stride in New Orleans, his dead eye shooting stroke has returned and his defensive intensity has been excellent.

Calderon averages for the first five games were:

11 points; 5.8 assists; 1.6 turnovers. Shooting 41.6% from the field.

A little off for Jose, but over the next five games these averages increased to:

14 points; 7.6 assists; 1.0 turnovers. Shooting 58.8% from the field with a 7.6:1 Assist to Turnover ratio!!!

After a slow start, Jose Calderon is definitely back on track!

DeMar DeRozan

The rookie DeMar DeRozan had a break out game last week. Playing against the NBA’s third best rebounding team, the Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan hauled in an impressive nine boards in just 19 minutes.

He still looks like a rookie at times, and Jay Triano has limited his minutes to about 18 per game, but DeRozan has played well most nights.

DeRozan averages for the first 10 games are:

5 points; 3.1 rebounds; 1.1 assists; 0.5 steals; 0.8 blocks. Shooting 44% from the field.

Those blocks by a rookie guard are especially impressive!

Hedo Turkoglu

Hedo Turkoglu has been slowly finding his place on the Raptors, getting his second 20 point game of the season against the Suns and almost dragging a victory out of the jaws of defeat.

But there has been nothing wrong with the:

14.5 points; 4.7 rebounds; 3.5 assists; 0.8 steals; and 0.7 blocks

Turkoglu has already contributed in his first 10 games.

Hitting on 46.5 percent of his shots, Turkoglu is shooting better than his 43 percent career average.

Signing the 30 year-old veteran made sense for the Raptors. Expect the big small forward to only get better.

Chris Bosh

Maybe its the contract year , but Chris Bosh has been a monster to start the season. Going inside for baskets and foul shots more than at any point in his career. Even with more scoring options on the Raptors than ever before, Bosh is proving that he still carries the Raptors offensive load.

Over the first 10 games, Bosh has averaged an impressive:

27.7 points; 11.6 rebounds; 0.6 steals; 1.0 blocks. Shooting 50% from the field.

Third in rebounding and sixth in scoring, it’s Bosh’s league leading 12.9 free throw attempts per game that really illustrate just how much better Bosh is playing than at any point in his career.

One might throw in Bosh’s 6-7 from the three-point line just for interest!

Andrea Bargnani

After an exceptionally hot start to the season, Andrea Bargnani seems to have settled into a more anticipated level of play. But by no means is that bad!

In his first 10 games, Bargnani has averaged:

19.3 points; 5.7 rebounds; 0.5 steals; 1.1 blocks. Shooting 50% from the field and leading the Raptors in blocks.

Andrea has hit a three-pointer in every game this season and has hit multiple three-pointers in seven games. Effectively stretching defenses for Chris Bosh’s new inside presence.

But more will be expected from the Raptors biggest man this season to answer the question, Did the Raptors over-pay Andrea Bargnani this summer?

Jarrett Jack

Jack has played the most minutes off the bench so far this season but with inconsistent results. Playing well and poorly, often in the same game.

In his 23.3 minutes per game, Jack is averaging:

6.4 points; 2.5 assists; 2 turnovers. Shooting just 35.4%.

A big potential issue is the minutes Jack is playing with Jose Calderon. Can Jarrett Jack play shooting guard?

It looks like minutes at off guard is hurting Jack’s game!

Antoine Wright

Antoine Wright missed his first game of the season against the Suns with an ankle injury. But over his first nine games, Wright has become an important player in Jay Triano’s rotation averaging 21.2 minutes per game.

Brought in primarily for his defense, his season averages reflect this:

5.8 points; 3.1 rebounds; 1.1 assists; 0.33 blocks. Shooting 31.5%, Ouch!

Antoine Wright has brought a measure of toughness to the Raptors and has proven his case for minutes.

The only knock on his game being that he forgets that the reason he is left open sometimes is the other team wants him to shoot!

Marco Belinelli

When you are known primarily as an offensive player, sometimes it can be hard to get minutes on a team looking for defense off the bench. But recently Jay Triano has discovered the benefits of playing Marco Belinelli.

In his first 10 games in 17.4 minutes, Belinelli has averaged:

8.2 points; 1 rebound; 1.6 assists; o.7 steals. Shooting 49.2% from the field and 50% from three.

But over the last four games in 22.5 minutes, he has averaged 11 points shooting 53.6% from the field and 58.8% from three. Marco Belinelli is a shooting star!

Belinelli has benefited from a recent reduction in Jack’s minutes and from Wright’s injury. And from the way Belinelli has played, he doesn’t want to give those minutes back!

Amir Johnson

Detroit gave up on the very athletic but under-weight “hybrid” forward when they shipped him off to save salary this summer. But based on his first 10 games for the Raptors, it looks like the Pistons actions may have been premature.

In 16.3 minutes, Amir Johnson has averaged:

4.5 points; 4.8 rebounds; 0.5 steals; 0.2 blocks. Shooting 59.3%.

But Amir Johnson got off to a slow start with the Raptors. In his last five games, there has been a significant improvement. In 21.2 minutes, he has averaged:

6 points; 6.8 rebounds; 0.8 steals; 0.4 blocks.

As important, Johnson has been active and effective on defensive. The disruptive defensive player the Raptors thought this athlete could be.

It’s been hoped Amir Johnson could be the next Marcus Camby.

The Rest

Reggie Evans remains out with a sprained foot.

Rasho Nesterovic is only seeing spot duty.

Sonny Weems missed a number of games due to injury and is behind Antoine Wright and Marco Belinelli for back-up minutes.

Marcus Banks and Patrick O’Bryant are not expected to play often.

Quincy Douby has been given his release to make room for the newest Raptor, Pops Mensah-Bonsu!

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Toronto Raptors Re-Acquire Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Stephen Brotherston — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:47:42 -0500

The reason for Quincy Douby's early release has now become clear, the Toronto Raptors have re-acquired forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu off waivers from the Houston Rockets. Raptors.com

Kudos going out to Grange of the Globe and Mail for suggesting this deal was in the works.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu was a Toronto Raptors' free agent who got lost in Bryan Colangelo's mad summer of ground breaking deals.

Pops was quoted on a number of occasions that he expected to be back in Toronto this season. But after the Raptors filled their final roster spot, it became apparent that this was not to be and Pops signed as a free agent with Houston.

Originally signing in Toronto on March 6, 2009, Pops became an instant crowd favorite for his reckless abandon on the floor. Grabbing rebounds and swatting back shots with an enthusiasm that had been lacking on the Raptors.

In 19 games with the Raptors last season, Pops played an average of 13.8 minutes, scored an average of 5.1 points and collected an average of 5.4 rebounds.

This season in Houston, he averaged just 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 3.3 minutes.

After being released on waivers, Fanhouse reported that other teams were interested in acquiring Mensah-Bonsu, but his agent discouraged them saying Pops only wanted to play in Toronto.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu is expected to be available to play for Toronto immediately.

Raptors fans should be asking what this means for Amir Johnson and Reggie Evans.

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Raptors Looking To Eat McNuggets In Denver!

Louis Pisano — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:10:47 -0500

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano

Toronto has made its second trip of this young season out West and is going to be facing the deadly Denver Nuggets tonight at the Pepsi Centre.

This Nuggets team is made its way home from a six game eastern road trip on which they went 3-3 and had to immediately face the cream of the of the crop in the west and the defending world champion Lakers. Denver proceeded to pound the Lakers 105-79, which tells you how well they play at home.

Now, the Raptors having never been a great road team and who are only 2-4 this year away from the ACC could be in tough.

They put forth a gritty effort at both ends of the court albeit in a loss Sunday to the high-flying Phoenix Suns but lost by only a single point.

Their defence which has been one of the concerns for the team over years held the aforementioned Suns, the highest scoring team in the NBA, to 101 points.

Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, and Kenyon Martin make up the big three for Denver and will be hard to stop and account for the majority of their scoring.

Rookie PG Ty Lawson former stud of the North Carolina Tarheels is averaging 10.3 points per game and looks great along with J.R. Smith who is averaging 14.3 and the Bird Man Chris Anderson averaging 5.2 PPG 7.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG all who are coming off the bench.

This in one team that can truly compare to the depth of the Raptors bench and if the Raps are going to hang around in this game they will have to outscore this trio of starters and bench players.

Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon and Turkoglu will be leaned on heavily tonight and should be on the floor for a lot of minutes, and when Jerrett Jack, Amir Johnson and Antoine Wright are in they will need to be productive if the Raptors hope to come away with the win.

With the dominance this Nuggets team has imposed on visiting teams and with the thin air and unaccommodating weather the Toronto Raptors will need to muster every last ounce of get up and go they have to pull out a win. But as I said in previous articles I think this team can win on any given night against an opponent.

This is one that will be just a little more difficult than others.

Go Raps!

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Reviewing the Raptors: Better than Expected After 10 Games

Stephen Brotherston — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:55:47 -0500

Five and Five, a Good Start

The ten game mark of the season is good place to stand back and take a look at how the rebuilt Raptors have done so far, and reflect on what could have been and what’s next.

The short answer is found on ESPN’s John Hollinger's team statistics. The Raptors are first in the NBA for Offensive Efficiency, scoring 113 points per 100 possessions. But the Raptors are last in the NBA for Defensive Efficiency permitting 112.1 points per 100 possessions.

Therefore, the Raptors must be five and five over their first 10 games. Well they are, but the Hollinger statistics are burying a wealth of important details.

To start, no one predicted the Raptors would start the season off this strong. A few may have boldly predicted a few more wins but, from the post Raptors Will Bounce Back in 2009-10

“Predicting the early headlines this season to read “Raptors Go 2 and 8 Out of the Gate ” as the Raptors face Cleveland and Orlando at home and then New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, LA Clippers, and Phoenix on the road.”

With eight of 10 games against playoff teams from last year and six Western Conference road games, a slow start to the season should not have surprised anyone.

The rationale for expecting a slow start was on firm ground. The Raptors had struggled during the preseason and despite Jay Triano’s assurances that the team was concentrating on defense, little evidence of defense could be found in preseason games.

The team was trying to incorporate nine new players. There was a rookie in the starting line-up. Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu had missed most of the preseason. Defensive specialist Antoine Wright had played just one preseason game. Jose Calderon had a terrible preseason. And new fan favorite Reggie Evans was injured.

Following the final preseason embarrassment in Minnesota, the Raptors ended their preseason with just two wins and six losses. Leading to Toronto Raptors Fans Feeling the Fear!

Expected Scoring, Unexpected Defense

The new-look Toronto Raptors were expected to score and were even forecast to be a top-five scoring franchise. An early look at the Raptors’ projected stats indicated team totals for a 10-man rotation of:

“240 MIN; 109 PPG; 41.9 RPG; 26.8 APG; 6.9 STL; 4.5 BLK; 13.7 TO”

The actual stats are: 106.9 PPG; 39.4 RPG; 20.5 APG; 5.1 STL; 5.0 BLK; 12.1 TO

The Raptors are indeed a top-five scoring team to start this season!

But the Raptors have not been winning games just by scoring. The Raptors have been winning on the defensive end.

In the five Raptors wins, they have held opponents to just 91.6 points while scoring a laudable 104.2. That’s a defensive performance worthy of any of the league’s top six defensive clubs.

And the teams the Raptors have defeated were good teams: Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, and the L.A. Clippers.

But in the five Raptors losses, the Raptors have scored 109.6 points while their opponents have poured in 120.2. While Raptors scoring in losses might be impressive, no one wins very often when giving up 120 points in this league!

However the Raptors losses were hardly unexpected. Orlando, Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix are all very good clubs. Plus the Raptors are 2-6 all-time in Memphis for some inexplicable reason.

In all, a 3-1 home record plus 2-4 against Western Conference teams on the road has to be considered a successful start to the season.

Raptors Getting Better Each Game

The Raptors appear to be getting stronger as the young season progresses.

Over the last three games against Chicago, L.A. Clippers, and Phoenix, the Raptors have shown a defensive toughness that was not expected. At least not expected so early in the season.

At just 93 points per game given up over the last three games, the Raptors seem to have found their defensive stride One explanation is the abandonment of the Jose Calderon-Jarrett Jack duo point guard lineup to close out games.

The Evidence of Defense from the Raptors has coincided with this change.

“As recently identified in the True Hoop Article: What’s Working For The Raptors , when Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack are on the floor together, the Raptors are surrendering 136.8 points per 100 possessions. Now that’s unbelievably bad! It’s historically bad!

Now the guys at True Hoop were not the first to notice this. After the Memphis game, the question was raised Can Jarrett Jack Play Shooting Guard?

The answer has now been settled. Jarrett Jack cannot play shooting guard for the Raptors! The duo point guard lineup isn’t working!”

It can be argued that the game in Phoenix was lost when “for some strange and illogical reason, Jay Triano decided to go back to the worst defensive guard lineup the Raptors have put on the floor this season.” Coaching Decision Costs Raptors A Win!

In Phoenix, Triano quickly recognized that the Suns were pulling away from the Raptors with Jack and Calderon playing together and substituted Turkoglu for Jack with six minutes to go. Turkoglu almost pulled out the win at the end.

Perhaps worse than two Raptors road losses that can be attributed to the Calderon-Jack lineup has been the negative impact on Jack’s confidence. Jack has under-performed to start the season and needs to return to what he does best, backing up Jose Calderon at point guard.

The Next 10 Games

The next 10 games represent a continuation of this exceptionally challenging start to the Raptors season.

Denver (7-3), Utah (4-6), Charlotte (3-6), Boston (8-3), and Atlanta (8-2) on the road.

Miami (7-2), Orlando (7-3), Indiana (4-3), Phoenix (9-2), and Washington (2-7) at home.

Facing only three teams with under .500 records, escaping the next 10 with another 5-5 split won’t be easy for the Raptors.

But Raptors fans should be cautiously optimistic with just how well their team has performed this early in the season. And absolutely ecstatic with just how quickly the high scoring, offensive minded Raptors have implemented Jay Triano’s defensive schemes.

Maybe, just maybe, the Raptors can out-perform all reasonable expectations in the next 10 games of their schedule.

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The Key to the Raptors' Defence: Offence

Gene — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:07:18 -0500

After hearing and reading various interviews from the Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano, I really liked most of what he’s said so far, but there were a few things that I disliked.

One thing that I strongly disagreed with was Triano’s overemphasis of defence.

The Raptors’ previous head coach, Sam Mitchell, constantly exaggerated the importance of defence and often times only got his team to practice defence. Early on in the season, Triano appeared to be taking a similar approach to Mitchell .

After the Raptors’ season-opening victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Bosh said, “That's all we talk about is defence, defence, defence.”

The Raptors should dramatically improve their overall level of play, including on defence, if they take a balanced approach to both talking and practicing.

Defence and Offence Are Interrelated

I was thrilled when I learned that Triano wanted to emphasize constantly moving/sharing the basketball. I believe that such a simple strategy can greatly improve the Raptors overall play, not just on the offensive end of the court.

First, it takes a lot less energy to throw a ball than it does to sprint to the location that the ball was thrown. Constantly passing the ball can tire the opposing players by making them run a lot.

So, even if a particular possession where the ball was effectively moved doesn’t result in points scored, it should still greatly benefit futures plays in the game.

Playing against an overly tired team can give the Raptors an advantage on both ends of the floor. On the offensive end of the court, they can take advantage of a tired defence.

On the defensive end, an overly tired opposition is more likely to have their jump shots fall short, be a step late on a drive so that an offensive foul is called on them, etc. Moreover, overly tired rebounders won’t be as effective, so the Raptors should benefit in that aspect of the game as well.

Thus, constantly moving the ball on offence can significantly improve all aspects of the game, including the defensive statistics.

In addition, constantly moving the ball puts added pressure on the opposition’s defence, increasing the chances of them making mistakes and thereby increasing the chances of the Raptors getting better shots available to them.

Moreover, quickly moving the ball keeps the opposition guessing. It’s far easier to guard against something that you know is coming. If the ball’s quickly moving, it’s a lot harder to get a read on what a team’s trying to do and is thereby a lot harder to defend against it.

Also, sharing the basketball makes it such that players will not force up bad shots because of the belief that if they give up the ball, they might not get it back again.

Now, those last three points may appear to be strictly offensive advantages, but they can significantly help the defensive aspect of the game as well.

Most of the Battle is in the Head

One should never underestimate the importance of the mental aspect of sports.

Even if an NBA player has the most gifted body in the world, it won’t do him any good if he’s in a coma. Why? Without the mind present to control the body, the body can’t do anything. Suffice it to say, the mental aspect of sports is absolutely critical.

One of the keys to the mental aspect of sports is confidence.

Now, for players who are above average offensively but are lacking defensively, only practicing and talking about defence can adversely affect their confidence. And a low confidence level can adversely affect a player’s overall game, both offensively and defensively.

One of the easiest ways to build confidence is to build off of successes and not dwell on failures.

It’s easiest for an NBA player to succeed if he’s doing what he’s best at. So, it’s easier for offensive-oriented players to gain confidence by playing well on offence and it’s easier for defensive-oriented players to gain confidence by playing well on defence.

Also, it’s a lot harder for defensively lacking players to not dwell on their failures if everyone is constantly talking about how bad their defence is.

Confidence is contagious and can spill over into all aspects of players’ games. So, for offensively talented but defensively lacking players, being successful on offense and not having to constantly hear about their bad defence should improve their overall game, including their defence.

Keeping Your Heads Held High

Playing well on offence can also have a demoralizing affect on an opposing team.

This is especially true if the opposing team’s head coach subscribes to a “play good defence or I’ll punish you” philosophy. Especially against such a team, putting on a strong offensive showing can cause players, who don’t have extremely thick skins, to hang their heads and lose focus.

Instead of putting 100 percent focus on the task at hand, the players could start worrying that they’re going to get yelled at, get benched, get embarrassed, have bad things said about them, etc.

Thoughts that lead to anxiety, worry, fear and the like are the worst possible thoughts if a player wants to consistently succeed.

Thinking anti-productive thoughts normally severely hurts players’ overall performance, including on the offensive end of the court. And, of course, an opposing team playing poorly on offense makes the statistics favour your team defensively.

So, especially against certain teams, playing well on offence can drastically improve the Raptors’ defensive statistics.

The Right State of Mind

The best possible mental approach is to be expecting to succeed rather than fearing failure.

If a player misses a shot, misses a defensive assignment, gets a bad call from a referee, etc. he should forget about it. Otherwise, a single bad play or call can snowball into several bad plays.

The best way to forget about the negatives is to concentrate on the positives. A player should put 100 percent focus on the task at hand (the next play) and be thinking thoughts that maximize the chances of success.

Thoughts that lead to a calm, relaxed and peaceful state of mind are the ones that will lead to the most success possible.

When you watch elite players playing the game you seldom, if ever, see fear or anxiety in their eyes. Having the best possible mental approach to the game is a huge part of the reason why such players are elite.

Having and keeping inner-peace is the best way to defeat outer-adversity.

The Sixth Man... Okay, the 19,800th Men, Women and Children

The average fan normally gets more excited over good offensive plays. When was the last time that you saw that a crowd got excited because their team led the ball-handler into help defence?

So, for home games, putting on a rousing offensive display can more easily raise the energy level in the building. And the home team’s players can feed off of that energy and thereby raise their level of play for all aspects of the game, including on defence.

Similarly, jaw-dropping offensive plays on the road can lead to “oohs and ahs” followed by the sweet sound of silence. This can lead to a gain of confidence for the Raptors and/or a loss of confidence for the opposing team, both of which should improve their overall game, including defensively.

Furthermore, if the Raptors play a brand of basketball that more people want to watch, then they’ll sell more tickets. Having more people in the stands usually increases the energy level in the building, which should further benefit their overall play, including on defence.

Not only that, but more people buying tickets, watching games on television, buying merchandise, etc. increases team revenue. With increased revenue, ownership is more likely to be willing to spend more money, which could improve the team in the future, which would attract even more fans to team, and so on.

Those are some other ways that playing well offensively can improve the overall play of the team, including defensively.

Mixing Business with Pleasure

People tend to enjoy doing things that they’re good at, more so than doing things that they’re not good at. Also, people usually perform better in all aspects of life if they’re happier.

So, something as simple as having fun playing basketball can dramatically improve the overall performance of players.

For offensively gifted but defensively lacking players, only hearing about and practicing defence can take the fun out of the game. That, in turn, can cause those players’ overall game to get worse, including their defence.

Thus, exaggerating the importance of defence can actually make some players play worse defensively.

This season’s version of the Toronto Raptors appears to have a good mix of offensive and defensive players. So, it would be best if a balanced approach was taken with respect to talking about and practicing offence and defence.

Then, coming to the basketball court would feel less like work and more like play for all of the players, instead of just for the above-average defenders. That, in turn, should improve the overall play of all the players, including their play on defence.

Closer to Home for More People

To illustrate the last point, let’s use an example. Let’s say that you’ve excelled at all aspects of your job, except you were poor at public speaking.

But then, your boss starts showing you statistics about how all the best companies in the world have excellent public speakers and says that your company can’t succeed without you being one of the best public speakers in the world.

So, your boss then says that all you’ll be doing from now on is public speaking, which means that you’ll stop doing everything else that you’re excellent at.

On top of that, your boss keeps on repeating every day that you’re bad at public speaking and that you need to improve your public speaking. Your boss then threatens to take you off of all the good projects if you don’t become one of the best public speakers in the world.

Would such an approach make you enjoy your job more? Would such an approach make your job more fun? Would such an approach be the best way for you to improve all aspects of your job?

Or, would such an approach make you hang your head, dread going to work and make you even more nervous about public speaking, so that you stumble over even more words and become even worse at public speaking?

The best approach would be for your boss to acknowledge the truth that everything else that you excel at is really important to your company and that those benefits more than compensate for your poor public speaking.

Next, you should be allowed to continue doing what you do best, so that you can gain more confidence from other successes and be more relaxed when you’re speaking publicly.

Also, the overall problem of poor public speaking should be broken down into smaller sub-problems that can be easily solved. Then, with each small success your confidence will grow and before long your overall problem will be solved.

The Most Important Statistic

A team doesn’t get bonus points in the standings if they win a game by holding their opponents to a low field-goal percentage. A team gets a win if they score more points than their opposition. Period.

The won-loss record is the statistic that is the most important. It’s that statistic that determines playoff seeding and it’s that statistic that ultimately determines who the NBA champions will be.

A team can win a game by putting on a stifling defensive display, but they can also win a game by putting on an offensive clinic.

The easiest way to win a particular game is greatly dependent upon the opposing players and the strategies that they’re trying to execute. Certain teams will be more of a challenge on the offensive end of the court and others on the defensive end.

Whatever is the easiest way to win a particular game is the way that the Raptors should try to play that game, since that would maximize their chances of winning.

I believe that one of the marks of elite teams is that they will find a way to win even if one or more aspects of their play is lacking in a particular game.

I’d take an “ugly win” over a “pretty loss” any day of the week.

I can currently only think of one type of win that I wouldn’t want: I wouldn’t want a win that’s won unfairly. The (clean) play of the players on the court should determine who wins the game, not things like blown or missed calls.

But, other than something like that, I’d be happy with a win regardless of how it’s done. If it’s mostly through defence, that’s great. If it’s mostly through offence, that’s great too. If it’s mostly through rebounding, low turnovers, foul shooting, etc., that’s great as well.

Being able to win games in a number of different ways is a huge advantage. Having a balanced approach to talking and practicing is one of the keys to maximizing the chances of gaining such a huge advantage.

Keeping the Message True

Finally, I believe that mostly talking about and practicing defence sends the wrong message to the players. It sends the message that they’re good enough offensively, so they don’t have to work on improving that aspect of their games.

Professional athletes should always be trying to improve all aspects of their games.

Even if the Raptors had the same group of players for a decade and they led the league in offence for all those years, I still believe that they should be trying to get better on offence. Since that’s far from the case for the Raptors, I believe that they should even more so be trying to get better on offence.

Defence is an important part of winning games, but so is offence, passing, rebounding, taking care of the ball, moving without the ball, etc. Every aspect of the game is important and the message from the top, both in words and actions, should accurately reflect that truth.

Keeping the message 100 percent true would have the added benefit of making Triano more credible with his players. And being more credible would make it more likely that his players will buy into whatever he’s trying to preach.

Unlike what Mitchell used to do, the players should be praised by their coach if they’re doing good things to help their team win, even if they’re doing good things that are not on the defensive end of the court.

A few good words that let people know that the good that they’re doing hasn’t gone unnoticed, can do tremendous amounts of good. On the other hand, overly criticizing people can do tremendous amounts of harm.

In terms of preaching the right message through actions, practices should include all aspects of the game. Also, players should be given more playing time if they’re doing more good than harm overall in games, not just by how well they’re doing defensively.

Furthermore, the overall performance of the players in real games should be the largest determining factor of who deserves more playing time.

Good performances in practices can be used to give end-of-bench players more opportunities to play in real games, but if they’re not performing well in the real games, then they shouldn’t be given too much playing time.

Practices are important, but real games are by far the most important; practices are important mostly because they can improve the play in real games.

Performing well in real games is what will ultimately determine who the NBA champions will be.

A Small Change Can Lead to Big Results

I really liked most of what Triano has said and done so far this season, but continuing along Mitchell’s path of exaggerating the importance of defence can mask a lot of the good that he’s been doing.

I’ve been very pleased that, after the first few games of this season, Triano has stopped overemphasizing the importance of defence to the media. I hope that he’s taking a similar approach with his players, when he’s speaking to them in private.

I’m unsure of what Triano’s current approach to practicing is. But, if he hasn’t done so already, I hope that he changes from his preseason approach of only getting his team to practice defence.

Such a simple change in philosophy is one of the keys to maximizing the chances of all the Toronto Raptors players playing as well as they’re capable of playing in all aspects of the game, including on the defensive end.

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Raptors-Scheduling a Rough Road for Raps

Louis Pisano — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:39:16 -0500

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano

Talk about a tough way to start the season—eight of the first 12 games for the Raptors are on the road against some of the Western conference powerhouses.

Was a scheduler for the NBA just trying to screw the only Canadian team in the NBA off the bat, perhaps put them in a hole to start the season, break their confidence right away?

As a huge Raptors fan, I kind of feel that way, though after ten games, six of which have been on the road, the Raps are sitting at .500 and hold a record of 5-5 overall though are 2-4 on the road beating New Orleans and the Clippers and almost sneaking out a win in Phoenix last night.

The Raps have two more tough games on the road against Denver Tuesday and Utah Wednesday, both great home court teams, before coming home briefly for a three game home stand. Then off on the road again for three more games against some easier opponents, somewhat.

If it wasn’t for Hedo Turkoglu, the Raptors wouldn’t have even been in the game last night against Phoenix.

Late in the fourth quarter he was only a few inches away from another three ball that might have changed the complexion of the game as it came down to a one point win for the Suns. He did miss the last second shot that would have most likely given the Raps the game but came up just short.

I’d like to think with the defensive effort the Raptors came up with last night (limiting the highest scoring team in the NBA to 101 points) that their hard work at that end of the court is beginning to pay some dividends. Thus proving not only to the fans and other teams that they can play defence, but reassuring themselves that they can.

Confidence is a massive part of any athlete’s production and this team seems to be gaining some swagger.

I am hopeful that they can split the next two games or perhaps even win both, though that may be quite a tall task against two tough teams as previously mentioned, though I believe that this team is capable of greatness and seemingly has the right mix to win any night against anyone.

The starting lineup can matchup with any team in the NBA, as proven by beating a star studded line up in their home opener against Cleveland and can limit the highest team in the NBA, again against Phoenix as I mentioned.

Now Jay Triano has to keep them focused when they play the bottom dwellers and the mediocre teams, which will hopefully separate them and move them into the talks of upper echelon teams in the NBA.

I see no reason why they shouldn’t be talked about in the same conversation with the Celtics, Magic, and Cavs as it goes for the beasts of the east.

The next beast of the east is the ravenous Raptors who will make noise if they already haven’t in the Eastern conference, and will make the playoffs, and will give whoever they play once there, a damn good run for their money!

GO Raps GO!

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Raptors-Suns: Jay Triano's Coaching Costs Raptors A Win

Stephen Brotherston — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:24:51 -0500

Playing the high scoring 8-2 Phoenix Suns in their own building, where the Suns are undefeated on the season looked like a near impossible task for the reconstructed 5-4 Toronto Raptors.

But the Raptors were game on this night and took the Suns to the brink of defeat when Hedo Turkoglu’s last-second shot failed to fall as time expired. Suns 101, Raptors 100.

However, the game should never have gotten to a last-second shot for the win.

The Raptors had played the Suns even and ahead for the entire game, ending each quarter with a slight lead Even when the Suns finally managed to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors looked like they were not going to let this game get away.

But for some strange and illogical reason, Jay Triano decided to go back to the worst defensive guard lineup the Raptors have put on the floor this season.

At the 8:28 mark of the fourth quarter with the score tied at 84, Jay Triano substituted in Jose Calderon for Hedo Turkoglu to reunite him with Jarrett Jack. Let the bloodshed begin!

As has been discussed on numerous occasions this lineup simply doesn’t work.

With Calderon and Jack on the floor together, in just two minutes and 16 seconds, the Suns, who had not led since the first quarter, outscored the Raptors 7-2 to take a 91-86 lead. Jack went 0-1 with a turnover.

With Turkoglu returning to the game in place of Jack at the 6:12 mark, the Raptors fought back to take the lead 100-98 with 51 seconds left, arguably losing the game to some suspicious calls from the referees.

But it should never have come to this. The Raptors, for the third game in a row, played outstanding defense. This time against one of the best offensive teams the NBA has to throw at them.

Hopefully Jay Triano will finally admit that his two point guard line-up is a disaster that has been the direct cause of two Raptors road losses.

One would hate to see the first Canadian NBA head coach lose his luster and his job over some meaningless attempt to prove a concept he believes in should work.

Special notes:

Jose Calderon played some of the best defense of his career. Regularly switching on to Amar’e Stoudemire and playing him more effectively than the Raptors big men.

Jarrett Jack is looking more frustrated and less part of this team every time is forced to play with Jose Calderon and his team goes down because of it. During the Raptors comeback in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter while Raptors players were cheering, Jarrett Jack sat with his face in his hands and couldn't watch. Jay Triano is killing this young man's confidence!

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Toronto Raptors Show Evidence of Defense

Stephen Brotherston — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:09:26 -0500

If one were to look at the Toronto Raptors’ roster and projected stats for this team, it would be easy to conclude that these Raptors would score a lot of points.

In nearly every interview with Jay Triano he has stated that they are working on team defense because no one is concerned about this team’s ability to score.

And in the first nine games of the season, scoring has never been an issue. An average of about 108 points per game has the Raptors fourth in scoring in the NBA.

But defense has been a concern. Giving up an average 106 points per game and averaging 125 points per game surrendered in the team’s four losses would seem to indicate the Raptors defense is suspect. At the very least, defensive effort has been wildly inconsistent.

Inconsistent that is until the last two games the Raptors won.

Most recently against the Clippers, the Raptors held the Clips to zero baskets made in the final eight minutes and 18 seconds of the game and pulled out a 104-89 win.

Sure the Clippers are a weak team, but holding any team under 90 points represents a great defensive effort. Holding a team to a couple of made free throws for over eight minutes when on the road is outstanding.

In the game before the Raptors faced the 4-3 Bulls at the ACC. The Bulls have been a very good defensive team this season. Winning games by holding most teams to under 90 points.

So how did the Raptors handle the Bulls?

The Raptors held the Bulls to zero baskets made in the final nine minutes and 21 seconds of the game and pulled out a 99-89 win.

Scoring droughts during the course of an NBA game are not uncommon. Creating scoring droughts extending for over half of the fourth quarter to end a game is impressive. Doing it two games in a row is something any defensive powerhouse would take immense pride in.

And in the Toronto Raptors five wins this season, they could easily be mistaken for a very good defensive team. The Raptors have held their opponents under 100 points in each of the five wins surrendering a stingy 91.6 points per game.

Looking for answers to this Jekyll and Hyde approach to defense isn’t easy. But the road losses to Dallas and San Antonio were not a surprise. A disappointment maybe, but hardly a surprise.

But there has been one common thread during games where the Raptors seem to surrendering too many points. The duo point guard line-up of Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack is on the floor.

As recently identified in the True Hoop Article: What’s Working For The Raptors , when Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack on the floor together, the Raptors are surrendering 136.8 points per 100 possessions. Now that’s unbelievably bad! It’s historically bad!

Now the guys at True Hoop were not the first to notice this. After the Memphis game, the question was raised Can Jarrett Jack Play Shooting Guard?

The answer has now been settled. Jarrett Jack cannot play shooting guard for the Raptors! The duo point guard line-up isn’t working!

A quick summary of the Raptors attempts to play Jack at shooting guard to close out games is as follows:

Vs. Cleveland over the final six minutes, Jack goes 0-1 and Cleveland out scores Toronto 13-10.
Vs. Memphis over the final five minutes, Jack goes 0-1 and Memphis out scores Toronto 17-13.
Vs. Orlando over the final five minutes, Jack goes 0-1 and Orlando out scores Toronto 13-9.
Vs. Detroit over the final eight and a half minutes, Jack goes 0-3 but Toronto out scores Detroit 20-13.

The Calderon and Jack duo started the fourth quarter in Dallas and played two minutes in the front half of the fourth quarter against the Bulls but with little impact.

The one consistent thing about Jack when he plays with Calderon is he looks lost and ineffective.

It appears Jay Triano has conceded for the moment that the best way to finish games is to play his most effective people at the end. Against Chicago that was Antoine Wright. Versus the Clippers it was Marco Belinelli.

The Raptors next three games are on the road against Phoenix, Denver, and Utah. Three very tough playoff caliber teams. To have a chance at stealing one of these games will likely require the Raptors team that holds opponents to under 100 points to show up.

But these new end-of-game line-ups do seem to give the Raptors a better chance. At least better than playing the line-up that has surrendered 136.8 points per 100 possessions.

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Raptors Report: Week Three Ends In Heartbreak

Sachin Arora — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:44:49 -0500

The Raps played some good basketball this week, but were burned in a thriller vs the Suns to cap off the week in a bad way.

Record: 2-2

Performance on Scale of 1-10: 8

Positives —This squad is really starting to come together. The defense is actually improving, Jose Calderon has played MUCH better, Chris Bosh has still been unreal, and they overall have shown a lot of grit. Andrea Bargnani is finally starting to be a consistent offensive player. Offensively, Hedo Turkoglu is starting to come in to play hitting big shots and helping us down the stretch. Coming back from 22 is a sign of a good team.

Negatives —The Raptors often have to come from behind, which will burn them against good teams. This team is still weak defensively, and down the stretch of games it hurts them. They still haven't supported Chris Bosh well enough, and that thriller in Phoenix was a game that should have won.

Overall, they are improving substantially, and look for more improvements this week. Let's hope Reggie Evans gets back soon to help our defensive woes! If we can stay around .500 on this road trip, we are in a good position.

Go RAPS!

Next Report : Sunday, November 22nd

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New Orleans Center Emeka Okafor To Be Traded?

Stephen Brotherston — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:42:19 -0500

To say the New Orleans Hornets are in turmoil would be an understatement. But teams coming off 56 and 49 win seasons are not supposed to be in disarray! A team with a bona fide young superstar like Chris Paul isn't supposed to fail.

But the Hornets are failing. Firing their respected head coach Byron Scott a mere nine games into the season. Starting out with an unfathomable 3-8 record. And a GM now pretending to coach.

Now that Chris Paul is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a sprained ankle, the Hornets could easily be 3-15 by the time he returns. Playoff hopes vanishing in the process.

The New Orleans Hornets are a small market team that cannot afford to lose money indefinitely and are significantly into the luxury tax level with their current team salary. Worse, they are expected to be a luxury tax playing team next year as well.

If the Hornets are not going to make the playoffs, they need to shed payroll and shed it quickly. And they do not really have that many viable trade pieces.

Putting aside the rumours that Chris Paul is available in trade, Hoopsworld is reporting a rumour that the Hornets would like to move Emeka Okafor's $62 million contract.

Considering the team moved Tyson Chandler for Okafor in the offseason to realize modest immediate payroll savings, moving Okafor to further reduce payroll is not all that far-fetched.

It's time for the vultures to circle. Teams in difficulty provide other NBA clubs a rare opportunity to upgrade their rosters without giving up significant talent. One only has to imagine how well the Lakers would have done over the past two seasons if Pau Gasol hadn't landed in their lap for virtually nothing.

In a true salary dump, teams want either trade exceptions or expiring contracts. However, in the current cost conscience environment, the Hornets may find teams are not willing to add much to their payrolls. And with the impending free agent class of 2010, few teams will be willing to trade cap space for one of the Hornets' players. Chris Paul excepted.

But there are a handful of teams that might consider taking on Emeka Okafor's generous contract. Teams that haven't positioned themselves for 2010.

Okafor has proven he can get 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. He is a solid 6'10" 255 lb center who plays big and defends well, if a little robotic in his movements. With five years in the league, Okafor doesn't play like a rookie and at 27 years old, he should be effective though the balance of his five year deal.

The obvious candidate to acquire Okafor is Dallas. Dallas has been looking to move Erick Dampier for some time and if as reported his deal isn't fully guaranteed for next season, that is the type of contract New Orleans would be looking for.

A less obvious trade partner would be the Toronto Raptors.

A player like Okafor would fill in nicely behind Bosh and Bargnani providing the defense and rebounding the team needs and contributing on offense. Okafor would also provide a measure of Bosh "insurance" should the Raptors be unable to hold onto their big man past this season. (Unlikely to be needed as Bosh is not going anywhere! )

The Raptors could part with the popular Reggie Evans and the third string Marcus Banks who both have two years left on their deals. The big incentive to the Hornets being the $1.28 million dollars they would take off their luxury tax payment this year.

The Raptors, like most NBA teams, have no incentive to help out the faltering Hornets unless the deal resolves one of their own perceived team issues at little cost.

Just like the Golden State Warriors, the Hornets will find this year's NBA trade market very unfriendly to teams who have to make a deal.

The vultures will be circling!

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Toronto Raptors CB4: Better and Tougher Than B-4

Louis Pisano — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:36:17 -0500

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano

He ain’t straight out of Locash, but he is the 6-10 forward out of Georgia Tech whom Raptors fans have been enamoured with since he was drafted in the first round, fourth overall, in 2003.

After a rigorous off-season of training in which Chris Bosh put on 15 pounds of muscle, the work has been paying dividends in this young season.

He sits in fifth in points per game at 28, and at 11.8 rebounds per game he stands third in the league on average.

He is the face of the Raptors franchise at this time, and in every Toronto fans prayers, the face in the future.

Brian Colangelo has brought in, brought back, twisted, and tweaked the roster to benefit Toronto’s original big three of Bosh, Bargnani, and Calderone.

Amongst those acquired were Bosh’s college roommate Jarrett Jack, who has fit in immediately, and Bosh’s energy and competitiveness has risen to a new level since his arrival.

The team, now with Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, rookie sensation DeMar DeRozen, the return of Rasho Nesterovic, and, when cleared to play, Reggie Evans, has a completely different look than last year.

The additions of these players along with the continual progression of Bargnani down low has been nothing but beneficial to Bosh.

Having had the opportunity to play in the past with Team USA, also coached by Jay Triano, Bosh raised his game as well and as he continues to perfect the skills he learned from being around the great players on that team our Raptors are reaping the rewards.

CB4 wears his emotions his sleeve and has taken the leadership role by the reins, yet has been aided as it seems while watching the games by the veteran Reggie Evans, albeit off the bench for the time being.

Chris Bosh’s contract is up at the end of the year and Torontonians including myself would give our left arm to have him stay.

With all the pieces that have been put in place, the possibility remains that he will decide to stay a Raptor.

Go RAPS GO!

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Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors Is Well Worth His Weight in Gold!

Louis Pisano — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:19:28 -0500

By Louis "King of Roncesvalles" Pisano

The big Italian who got the big lire this season has been making his presence known in every game and is making GM Brian Colangelo look good for locking him up for five years.

Il Mago as he has been so nicknamed, meaning “The Magician,” has had a magic hand since he was drafted by the Raptors and as he ages like a nice bottle of Amarone he is indeed getting better with age.

As the Raptors have added parts to the team throughout his young career in the NBA he has seemingly been able to continue to progress through the ups and downs and take and amalgamate the positives from everyone around him continually evolving as a player.

Having watched his play progress and seeing him night in and night out with that unfazed, calm demeanour which exudes professionalism, I wait with unbearable anticipation to see him let off that yell and show a bit of emotion after hitting a three at the end of a game to seal the deal as he did tonight against the Clippers in a 22 point come from behind win.

The addition of another Italian, Marco Bellinelli, who's been bringing it at both ends of the court while coming off the bench, has been another boost seemingly for Bargnani and the team.

The Raptors are truly a mirror image and immaculate representation of the city of Toronto with its multicultural diverse blends.

As the Italians who came over here when Toronto was nothing but a dirt patch, creating many of the beautiful buildings that are a part of our heritage and foundations of our city, so has Brian Colangelo done so with this Toronto basketball team and these two Italian players adding solidity to the Raptors for years to come.

Being a Torontonian I haven’t had much to cheer about in the last number of years as it stands for any of our professional sports teams, now with this team I have the utmost faith that I will see the post-season and one with some success.

Go Raps GO!

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