I love how all they practiced in training camp was defense and there's absolutely no evidence of this team playing any. Quite possibly the worst and most embarrassing loss in team history. Glad I didn't watch this piss poor excuse of basketball.
Get rid of this ing coaching staff. I bet monkey's could do a better job with a defensive system than they could. And they definitely wouldn't pamper all these players when they constantly up.
infinity HiGH
quote:
ATLANTA – Maybe Sam Mitchell was bored: On the eve of the one-year anniversary of his firing as Raptors coach, Mitchell spent his Wednesday night watching his former team play his hometown Hawks.
He found out soon enough that little has changed for the better since he left. With the former coach sitting in the second row across the court from the Toronto bench, the listless, fight-less Raptors lost their fifth straight game in a blowout, 146-115.
Meanwhile Mitchell's successor, Jay Triano, awoke Thursday morning on the one-year anniversary of his promotion to head coach facing his first public crisis on the job. After an unconscionable defensive effort that saw the Raptors surrender the second-most points in franchise history, more than one player openly criticized the coach's schemes in the game's solemn wake.
And more than one veteran voice said Triano is failing to call out the players who are making the most egregious defensive mistakes.
"Every time something happens it's always, `It's okay, it's all right.' It's not all right," said Jarrett Jack, the reserve guard. "Problems go by without attacking them or challenging them or bringing them to the forefront and getting them solved. We can't keep keep putting them to the back of the bus and just saying, `That's okay.' It's not all right. Everybody can't walk on eggshells around here and say, `We're playing good basketball.' We're not."
Said Antoine Wright: "You've got to address (the defensive issues) and you've got to show people on tape. It's not personal. If you want to win, you're going to have to make some sacrifices."
Wright, who has criticized Triano's schemes previously, was the only Raptor not to see the floor on Wednesday. He said Triano has failed to "call out" under-performing Raptors because unnamed teammates are "too sensitive" to criticism. And although he and Jack were the most explicit in their post-game assessments, their sentiments weren't unique. After Triano gave a post-game press briefing in which he said he couldn't fault his team's effort - "I can't say I (saw players) not trying out there" - other eyes remembered it another way.
"The defensive effort hasn't been there for a while. We didn't magically appear last on the charts defensively," said all-star forward Chris Bosh, who, after scoring two points on two field-goal attempts, didn't seem thrilled with the offence, either. "I mean, tonight was just a total embarrassment. We couldn't stop anybody. We haven't stopped anybody all year."
A year to the night the Raptors dropped a 39-point loss in Denver that got Mitchell fired, perhaps the only difference was that on Wednesday, Mitchell had the option of retreating to a luxurious lounge for a glass of red wine after his old employer fell behind 24 points in the first half and never made a rally.
Triano, meanwhile, is left to figure out how to snap the Raptors out of an early season malaise. That the locker room is filled with public suggestions cannot be a good thing. In Mitchell's four-plus seasons it's difficult to remember more than the occasional moment when his strategies were openly questioned - and it was usually by Bosh, an all-star with the right to vent.
If the beef is that Triano isn't being tough enough on the defensive weak links - and a large percentage of the starting lineup pops to mind - it rings true. Even Triano's allies in the organization - and he is such an agreeable man he doesn't possess a known enemy - have quietly wondered about his ability to impose discipline on self-interested multi-millionaires. With no previous experience as a pro head coach before this, certainly he deserves time to figure out the art.
But he'd best do it soon.
"You can keep talking about it and talking about it and talking about it. It's time to act," said Bosh.
I predicted a 35 point loss last night, and 31 isn't that far off.
Even still, I watched the game because I wanted to see how this loss would be taken by the players and coaching staff.
Seeing the smiles and jokes on the bench when you're down 30 is not promising. It says the players are tuning out or the coach, the system, or both. They've given up on effort, and it leads to nights like last.
The media scrums last night were even more telling. What those articles don't show is the tone of voice of the players in their statements. And that too, wasn't promising. Bosh sounded dejected, like he too has given up. Flat, low, monotone voices about the team's performance, but still, no sound of intensity in his voice, or pride in the 'leadership' role he's been placed in. Jose did the usual 'avoid the question' responses. Wright criticized the coaching staff, but he's the guy who didn't see the floor. Jay was the worst of all, coddling his players after this loss instead of calling them out. He had no hard answers as to why they lost the way they did, or had any solutions as to what can be done.
The only person that impressed me was Jack. In his interview he was intense. Without calling out names you could feel that he was upset with the direction of his team, and it came across that way. It's too bad he isn't considered a leader on this team because that kind of intensity and pride is very much lacking in the locker room right now.
Orko
quote:
Originally posted by Sly_Guy
I predicted a 35 point loss last night, and 31 isn't that far off.
Even still, I watched the game because I wanted to see how this loss would be taken by the players and coaching staff.
Seeing the smiles and jokes on the bench when you're down 30 is not promising. It says the players are tuning out or the coach, the system, or both. They've given up on effort, and it leads to nights like last.
The media scrums last night were even more telling. What those articles don't show is the tone of voice of the players in their statements. And that too, wasn't promising. Bosh sounded dejected, like he too has given up. Flat, low, monotone voices about the team's performance, but still, no sound of intensity in his voice, or pride in the 'leadership' role he's been placed in. Jose did the usual 'avoid the question' responses. Wright criticized the coaching staff, but he's the guy who didn't see the floor. Jay was the worst of all, coddling his players after this loss instead of calling them out. He had no hard answers as to why they lost the way they did, or had any solutions as to what can be done.
The only person that impressed me was Jack. In his interview he was intense. Without calling out names you could feel that he was upset with the direction of his team, and it came across that way. It's too bad he isn't considered a leader on this team because that kind of intensity and pride is very much lacking in the locker room right now.
It feels like intensity has been missing from the Raps the whole time. They are not excited about playing, just going out to do it, because they have job.
Also, I don't think Bosh should be THE team lead, he needs another experienced head beside him to help lead and show the other guys. He is too young, and IMO inexperienced. He will get the help he needs when he leaves.
infinity HiGH
I wonder who the insecure guys are :conf: My money is on Bargnani and possibly Calderon or Turk.
slingshot
quote:
Originally posted by infinity HiGH
I wonder who the insecure guys are :conf: My money is on Bargnani and possibly Calderon or Turk.
lol, bargnani is definitely a baby....his body language on the floor makes me want to puke some times.....he has no intensity to his game whatsoever....jose and turk for sure as well....jose's deficiency's are more prevalent though because as soon as he gets beat (which is pretty much everytime) a whole slew of rotations need to take place to compensate....and with guys in the back like bargs and turk....it's not going to work very well. Teams have scouted the raps perfectly and the recipe to beat us is pretty much as easy as making jello.
I_Am_Vince
I like Calderon's skills but the guy is too passive on the court. He needs to be more aggressive and be more intense. He's like a soft Steve Nash. Atleast Nash is aggressive, he averages 10 assists a game along with 4 turnovers. Calderon last year had 1.4 turnovers/game. It just shows he's way too careful with the ball or he's worried about his stats too much.
Iuno why Bargnani can't be more aggressive either. He has the potential, he can shoot, drive, etc. But always settles for the jumper. Sure he has a few nice plays here and there but defense wise he's crap and not to mention very streaky. I've been backing up Bargnani for years but every time he shows a little spark of hope, he just disappoints me more. He was mediocre under Sam Mitchell's tuff regiment and he's still mediocre being babied by Jay Triano.
I believe we're doing worst then we did this time last year when Sam Mitchell got fired. Let's see what BC decides to do the next few games.
jon jon
:(
infinity HiGH
quote:
Originally posted by I_Am_Vince
I like Calderon's skills but the guy is too passive on the court. He needs to be more aggressive and be more intense. He's like a soft Steve Nash. Atleast Nash is aggressive, he averages 10 assists a game along with 4 turnovers. Calderon last year had 1.4 turnovers/game. It just shows he's way too careful with the ball or he's worried about his stats too much.
Iuno why Bargnani can't be more aggressive either. He has the potential, he can shoot, drive, etc. But always settles for the jumper. Sure he has a few nice plays here and there but defense wise he's crap and not to mention very streaky. I've been backing up Bargnani for years but every time he shows a little spark of hope, he just disappoints me more. He was mediocre under Sam Mitchell's tuff regiment and he's still mediocre being babied by Jay Triano.
I believe we're doing worst then we did this time last year when Sam Mitchell got fired. Let's see what BC decides to do the next few games.
Nash also has waaaaaay better court vision and ball handling abilities. It seems like every time the Raptors get a quick rebound and have the opportunity to run down the court Jose slows the game down to a half court offense which allows the D to set in. He coddles the ball the same way Triano is coddling the rest of the team.
On to Bargnani: every time I see him do the pump fake at the 3pt line, drive 2-3 steps and pull up for a jumper around the free throw line I wanna smash my TV. The guy could easily go all the way but pussies out for those stupid jumpers.
And yea...it was obvious back then that Colangelo was just looking for an excuse to get rid of Mitchell even though it wasn't even close to as bad as it is now. Even worse is that we're stuck with Triano because I doubt the team wants to pay for both Triano and Mitchell to sit at home and collect their contract while we look for a third coach in 1 year.
Basically...we're ed any way you look at it. Good job BC.
edit
One other interesting observation: I really feel that the locker room is ready to implode. It's beyond me why the new guys come in and have this and that to say about how poorly we're performing, and the guys that have been around here for a while (mostly Calderon and Bargs) can't come up with any sort of insight as to why they're playing such garbage basketball. It's like they've already been given a free pass.
slingshot
Good on JJ and Antoine Wright though....I would imagine Reggie would be there ready to throw ppl under the bus as well if he was around. Hopefully pansy ass Bosh learns a lesson from this and starts getting in peoples faces.
infinity HiGH
lmao bosh hater
Sly_Guy
quote:
Originally posted by infinity HiGH
Nash also has waaaaaay better court vision and ball handling abilities. It seems like every time the Raptors get a quick rebound and have the opportunity to run down the court Jose slows the game down to a half court offense which allows the D to set in. He coddles the ball the same way Triano is coddling the rest of the team.
On to Bargnani: every time I see him do the pump fake at the 3pt line, drive 2-3 steps and pull up for a jumper around the free throw line I wanna smash my TV. The guy could easily go all the way but pussies out for those stupid jumpers.
And yea...it was obvious back then that Colangelo was just looking for an excuse to get rid of Mitchell even though it wasn't even close to as bad as it is now. Even worse is that we're stuck with Triano because I doubt the team wants to pay for both Triano and Mitchell to sit at home and collect their contract while we look for a third coach in 1 year.
Basically...we're ed any way you look at it. Good job BC.
edit
One other interesting observation: I really feel that the locker room is ready to implode. It's beyond me why the new guys come in and have this and that to say about how poorly we're performing, and the guys that have been around here for a while (mostly Calderon and Bargs) can't come up with any sort of insight as to why they're playing such garbage basketball. It's like they've already been given a free pass.
I actually don't think all this is entirely fair. I don't think any of us should really have a bad word to say about the raptors offense. 100+ ppg is enough to win games. Bargnani -ing out and not taking it strong is irrelevant when you're still putting up a ton of points. This is solely a defensive [or lack thereof] problem.
