Random Raptors thoughts
Posted by Arsenalist on July 19, 2008
The Fake Raptors blowing out the Lakers reminded me of the Real Raptors. You know, how we were mired in mini losing streaks and when we finally won it was by 39 points. And you thought, “There, that’s the real Raptors” and just as soon as you finished the sentence we lose to the Clippers at home. It was almost like we needed to be up by 25 for us to have a chance to win because asking this team to fight and claw their way to a win in the fourth quarter was too much to ask.
We didn’t win nearly enough “grit games” in the regular season to prepare us for the intensity of the playoffs. That’s whw we couldn’t win Games 2 and 4 - they came down to the wire and we folded like a cheap deck of cards. The team wasn’t mentally or emotionally experienced or prepared to handle situations like those - close, tense encounters that value possessions and force you to be disciplined in everything you do on both ends of the floor.
In baseball they talk about one-run games and how great an indication that is of how good your bullpen, fielding and pitching is. In much the same way your record in close NBA games tells you what a team is capapble of when push comes to shove and you have to go that extra yard and execute that one crucial play down the stretch. I’m hoping that the addition of Jermaine O’Neal will, more than anything, add an extra offensive option that will allow us to get good looks when it really matters - with 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The PNR and Bosh Post-Ups become awfully predictable when you’re running them all game long and that’s why they hardly fool anyone in the fourth. A bit of offensive creativity is what could put this team over the hump of mediocrity which is so rampant in the East.
The lack of fast break points was another annoying factor last year. You would’ve though that with two very good PGs and the likes of Parker, Moon and Bosh we’d be pushing a slight bit more and putting Kapono in the corner for the kick-out three on the break. It’s unforunate that if anything, next year we’ll be even more of a half-court team and won’t look to get easy baskets. The addition of O’Neal and the subtraction of Ford means our half-court needs to be damn efficient because we won’t be getting much on the break.
July 19, 2008 at 12:25 pm
The Big Question in my mind will be the play of Joey Graham and if he is able to finally play the NBA game. The rest of the team is just Experiment #82 for the fan’s pleasure.
If this edition of the Raptors makes the playoffs, that will be a pleasant over-achieving result. I can still enjoy the bball played by visiting teams because bball is not a tribal honking event for me.
July 19, 2008 at 2:05 pm
“execute that one crucial play down the stretch”..*…And Nothing Else Matters.*
July 19, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Upon reading your blog article again, I wonder if you are able to fully appreciate the abilities of the opposing team overtaking and beating the Raptors. Are you entirely mired emotionally in the home team, and cannot objectively appreciate the athleticism and execution of the visiting team?
Do the Raptors represent your subconscious manhood and tribal instincts, and you can only be satisfied if the Raptors win the game?
July 19, 2008 at 6:43 pm
FAQ - its summertime. You try coming up with a post every damn day.
Of course I appreciate the opposing team, I usually wish how we were more like them. But yes, I only get satisfied if the Raptors win. The Raptors have never lost a game where I said, “Oh boy, I really enjoyed Team X kicking our ass so soundly”.
July 19, 2008 at 7:28 pm
i have to agree with arse. when the raptors are playing, i am only satisfied when they win. if they put up a good fight against a clearly better team, i don’t get pissed off, but far too often, it hasn’t gone down that way.
July 19, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Why do you feel emotionally linked to a bunch of bballers who are providing you with athletic entertainment so they can be millionaires??
Would you feel happy if the team located in Boston visiting Toronto donned Raptor uniforms and the Raptors put on the Celtic uniforms and were thoroughly trashed??
Do the Raptors somehow complete your manhood and make your life more complete when they win, but injure your feeelings when they lose??
Are your opinions so important to you that you demand redress when others do not confirm your needs??
I try to enjoy the game of bball regardless who is playing .. and I try not to regress into a tribal honking fan. (It’s raining today ..)
July 19, 2008 at 7:51 pm
What on earth are you talking about FAQ?
BTW, I’m watching the Knicks/Bobcats and I’m starting to think their summer league teams are actually better than their real teams.
July 19, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Amen about the coming up with something everyday. I just take summer league for what it is. I perdicted that Joey G would tear it up. Going into yr 4 you damm well better tear up Summer League. I have come to this 1 line that sums up Joey Graham to me.
He performs the BEST when it MATTERS the LEAST
That is Joey Graham (Player/Emergency Pilot on Raptors Charter)
July 20, 2008 at 4:46 am
Arsenalist,
FWIW, like you … I, too, am looking forward to see what sets this year’s Raptors team will be running in the half-court to take maximize the abilities of this set of players now on their roster, in conjunction with the standard PNR’s which have become the staples of Sam’s ‘offensive system’ in Toronto, thus far. Calderon is terrific at delivering the ball on time and in the right place to shooters when running a specific set and CB4 & JO are both accomplished front=court scorers. Depending on the situational match-ups, who Sam decides to go with in the other two positions, based on offensive, defensive & rebounding needs, will dictate which alignments will be used the most frequently and the specific ‘action’ used to generate a quality shot each trip down the floor.
A simple ‘Horns Alignment’ would appear to be the most likely candidate right now as the basis of this year’s offensive structure.
July 20, 2008 at 8:34 am
[...] - Arsenalist [...]
July 20, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Arsenalist,
* In baseball, the best teams do not win the most 1-run games. The best teams win the highest number of blow-out games. Many people make the mistake of thinking that success in 1-run games is a critical factor in determining which team is the best in the League, when in fact it isn’t. First, cull out the teams with the highest Runs Scored Differential per game; THEN from that small group of top teams with a positive number in this category begin to examine other pieces of criteria which are important for a championship-calibre team to have as a part of their M.O. … e.g. like Saving 1-run ball games; come-from-behind W’s; walk-off at-bats; etc.
* Simarly, in basketball, winning close ballgames does not necessarily indicate that a team is either well-coached or in fact one of the best outfits in the League … despite what many uninformed people might think. First, cull out the teams with the highest Points Scored Differential per game; THEN from that small group of teams with a positive number in this category begin to examine other pieces of criteria which are important for a championship-calibre team to have as a part of their M.O. … e.g. like Points Allowed per game; Rebounding Differential per game; execution in the final 3 Minutes of the Fourth Quarter; etc.
IMHO not many people … so-called experts and/or others … really have a solid grasp of which teams are ‘the best’ in the League at any given point in time, despite what they ‘think’ they understand about the game.
===================
The patience you keep showing with a certain contributor here who continues to try and derail the productive threads you are putting up on your blog day after day during the summer is remarkable and commendable. :-) Hopefully others will eventually learn just to ignore those specific tangents he creates that ultimately end up going nowhere, except back to the problem of ‘tribal-honking Moronto basketball fans’. :-)
July 20, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I didn’t say the best teams win one-run games in baseball, I said winning 1-run games is an indication of how good your pitching, especially your bullpen and defense is. You can’t convince me otherwise. Blowing out teams is obviously great if you can do it.
As for basketball, I disagree. I think winning close games is an indication of how well-coached your team is and a test of their ability to execute down the stretch, getting clutch baskets, needed stops and the like.
I think “point differential” is the most meaningless stat in the NBA, just look at how John Hollinger ranked the Raptors the third or fourth best team in the league or something crazy like that based on his stats which counted point-differential is an important factor.
I’m not saying winning close games means you’re a championship team (look at GS last year), I’m saying if you hope to be a contender you better show the ability to get stops and score under pressure and not rely on you blowing out the other team so you can take it easy in the fourth.
July 20, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Arsenalist,
Yesterday Baltimore beat Detroit 11-10 in major league baseball. Does this indicate the Orioles have a solid pitching staff? How about if the O’s win a slew of games like this? (e.g. 7-6, 9-8, 5-4, etc. … in comparison to 2-1, 3-2 & 1-0) Or, the Yankees, in general, with the supreme force known as Mariano Rivera? (would you say that NY has a solid pitching this season just because ‘Mariano the Magnificent’ is closing the deal in his customary fashion)
In major league baseball Runs Scored Differential supercedes the value/measure of Percentage Success in 1-run games, even in terms of evaluating the strength of team’s pitching staff.