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Jay wrote this today:

Yes Raps fans, tonight there is going to be a D-Mart sighting. Maybe a few of them. With Jose Calderon out, Sam is going to be forced to play his hand and D-Mart is going to get some action. There have been some reports that he could see as much as 15-20 minutes, but let’s look for him to be somewhere between 10-15 with TJ asked to just carry more of the load until Jose returns.

The hard part about tonight’s game is that not only has D-Mart not played in a while, he has hardly played AT ALL this season (but it has been memorable…remember the 3 at the buzzer to keep “The Most Insignificant Streak” alive?), working mostly at practice speed. So now, not only does he have to go full speed in game mode, but he has to do it against the fastest team in the league with its best player pushing the ball up court…whom he’ll also have to guard. That’s unfair against anybody, let alone a 35 year old slightly pudgy bench coach.

Okay, we like to have a good laugh at D-Mart’s expense, but you also have to give the guy his props. It takes a certain kind of guy to know that he is rarely going to play and is essentially another assistant coach. Some of you might say, yeah, it takes a guy who can’t play, but seriously, there are a lot of players who would not be able to spend that much time on the bench without playing and still be in good enough spirits to watch the game effectively, finding ways to make the young players better. Realistically, he is grooming himself for an assistant’s job with another team.

D-Mart, we’re all pulling for you tonight, boss. We’ll raise our burgers to you.

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Jay wrote this today:

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Jay wrote this today:

Hey Raps fans,

Okay, obviously, you know how Lang and I are huge Raptors fans. So when I received an invitation to the Raptors Ultimate VIP Experience last week, I was pretty excited. Lang and I are thinking about buying season tix for next year with a couple of other people, so while I was taking my wife to the event, it was going to be a good source of info to take back to Lang when considering our purchase.

Anyway, here’s the invitation…

Now, here’s a letter I am sending to Richard Peddie, outlining the complete debacle that took place when I tried to go to this thing. The Raps are trying to get MORE season ticket holders, right? Wow. It’s kind of long, but it’s a good read. Enjoy. I’ll keep you guys posted.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Toronto Raptors Basketball Club
40 Bay Street, Suite 400
Toronto, ON M5J 2X2
Attn: Mr. Richard Peddie, President & CEO

Dear Mr. Peddie:

As a long time Raptors supporter and completely consumed Raptors fan, I have to say that last week was a step in the wrong direction for the Raptors organization in my opinion. I usually attend somewhere between 5-10 games a year, most of which I buy tickets for via walk-up, but occasionally in advance. As my career has progressed, so has my disposable income, which has led me to thinking about purchasing Raptors season tickets.

A couple of years ago, I met you at a Raptors season ticket holder appreciation night (as a guest of a friend) and you were very enthusiastic about the Raptors, even though the team was enduring some rough times. We briefly talked about season tickets and at that point, it wasn’t a realistic option for me. I vowed that when it was feasible, purchasing season tickets would be one of my top priorities.

Needless to say, last Wednesday, when I got home from work and opened an envelope that was inviting me to the Ultimate Raptors VIP Experience, I was very excited. While I found the whole “wine and cheese” thing a little funny considering we are talking about basketball here, I understood that the point of the event was to talk to Raptors fans about season tickets if not, at least, flex packs. I figured I had received the invitation at random after filling out a questionnaire regarding media at one of the many Raptors games I attended last season and was going to take my wife, who through me, has also turned into a voracious Raptors fan.

I called the number indicated on the invitation on Thursday, but at the recording, found I had called outside of office hours and made a point to call first thing Friday morning. After calling Friday morning, I was informed by your season tickets team that the event in question was actually that same night, before the Nets game. While on short notice, I said that it was fine, that I would still be able to attend and was looking forward to it. I was then informed that I could not attend, because there were no spots left; the event was completely booked. I stared at the “reservation” number on the front of my invitation, questioning whether the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club had any understanding of what “reservation” means. So after answering a few questions regarding my Raptors ticket purchasing habits, I hung up, completely embarrassed for the Raptors organization, which had just taken a potential Raptors season ticket purchaser and pushed him away.

While missing the event was disappointing, it isn’t the main point of this letter. Between my wife, my friends and I, we have sat everywhere in the ACC for Raptors games, literally from courtside to the very last row. The point that the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club continually seems to miss is that this is still a young franchise trying to build its season ticket base. The Raptors aren’t the Lakers. The Raptors can’t afford to treat their fans like dirt (and no organization should), especially those who are just about ready to purchase season tickets, it’s just not good business. Why would an invitation to something on a Friday night arrive at my house on a Wednesday? Why do I have a reservation number if my spot isn’t reserved? Why does an organization push away the people it needs to seduce? How many other Raptors fans were treated the same way?

Our plan was to purchase season tickets with some friends and within 2 years, if we were happy with things, look towards each of us buying our own separate set. After this debacle, we are starting to rethink things since we all have our responsibilities and season tickets are a cost we do not have to incur. Flex packs for the New Year and jerseys were supposed to be Christmas gifts this year, but this whole situation has set us off the Raptors and we will now look at some Blue Jays packages for the summer. We are still big Raptors fans, but will most likely spend our time watching the games at home instead of at the ACC.

As a final comment, please note that as avid Raptors fans, my friend and I run a Raptors blog called Raptorsforum.com. It has been in existence for about a year and is experiencing encouraging growth. We will be posting the invitation on the site, along with this letter and any feedback we receive in order to provide Raptors fans with an idea of how the Raptors deal with customer relations. While it’s great to read comments, post messages and watch games, there’s a certain sense of intrigue that comes with viewing the inner workings of an NBA franchise.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, we look forward to your response.

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Jay wrote this today:

So, what to make of the past few games? Andrea continues to progress, TJ is slowing the game down a bit and making better reads (especially at the end of the game) and MoPete is starting to look like MoPete again, draining 3s and playing some great D. But with all of this being said, the key has been…Rasho. Rasho you say? Yep. The big lug (and if there was ever somebody you could call a big lug, it would be Rasho) has been a force, rebounding and playing D, even showing that while he’s a big lug, he’s still quick enough to realize when to step down and get his hands ready for a scoring opportunity.

Has he been lighting it up? No. Has he been somebody other teams have been scared of attacking? No. But he has been solid down the middle of the court, which has been essential without Bosh around. Check out these numbers: In the last three games, Rasho has a total of 32 points, 10 blocks, 4 steals, 4 assists in 99 minutes. Rather pedestrian, wouldn’t you say? But the things that have to be noted with Rasho are the intangibles. For instance, the guy sets a pick like nobody’s business, opening the floor for TJ to either get a good look or to turn the corner en route to the lane.
It also may not be pretty to watch (think of kids jumping at bubbles floating in the air in the summer), but Rasho’s very active on D, getting a hand up on inside shots and making players alter their shots.

The good thing too, is that you can see Rasho rubbing off on some of the other guys, especially Bargnani. Bargnani has that tip-out back to the guards almost down to a science now. Realizing that he isn’t big enough yet to get down and dirty for a full game of rebounding, Bargnani has been able to get up and just knock the ball back to the point, letting TJ set things up again. On top of all of this, Rasho always seems to have the same demeanor. Whether he has started a game 5-5 shooting, made a good pass, put up a block, knocked somebody to the floor…it’s the same Rasho expression. It’s almost robotic. But hey, if Rasho “The Robot” Nesterovic (possible new nickname?) keeps ticking like this, oil that baby up.

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Jay wrote this today:

Great win for the Raps tonight, especially without Bosh. I can’t explain why Grant Hill and Dwight Howard were on the bench for so long in the 4th (maybe Coach and Swirsk were right when they said that Brian Hill must have just had too much confidence in his 2nd shift), but either way, it was nice to see the Raptors step up after two abysmal efforts.

So obviously, the talk tonight will be about Andrea and his quality night. Of note isn’t that he was just draining 3s, but he was shooting them contested and at the end of the shot clock. He’s almost too cool in those situations and maybe that’s where playing pro ball before this season has helped him.

Here are a few things that I really liked from Bargnani tonight. The first is that he made a couple of really good plays with his back to the basket. It’s great to see that he has that nice touch where he can put the ball on the floor and then take a couple of steps for a mini-hook or short jumper. He also seems to be quite adept at following his misses and going for the rebound, which will only make him that much more difficult to stop in the coming years.

The second thing that I really liked seeing him do tonight was trying to play hard D and taking charges (sure, sometimes they ended up in blocks, but he kept going to it). It takes a lot of guts to take a charge, especially when you are still relatively young and your body is still maturing. Those are big guys out there and I haven’t seen Andrea backing down.

The third thing that I liked (and it wasn’t anything big) was when TJ picked up a loose ball with about 4 minutes left in the 3rd. Andrea ran the floor and when he got the dish from TJ, he flushed it with two hands. Finished with the strong move. That’s what any coach will like to see. Go hard, throw it down and you just might have the opportunity to turn it into a 3 point play. It’s the little things that will make the difference in a young player’s game. Too many times we see players go for the finger roll or the one handed dunk, only to get fouled and miss the shot. Take it hard to the hoop.

On another note…can we please tell Chuck to never again say, “This guy likes to eat a lot of rim.” Yikes.

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Jay wrote this today:

Stats can pretty much tell you whatever you want them to tell you, but there are some linear relationships that are easily accepted. Don’t score enough points, you’ll lose; allow too many, you’ll lose, etc. But some other ones don’t always come with such clear results…or do they?

Let’s take a look at some things going on in the league and how they relate to the Raptors and their current state of disarray.

For some inexplicable reason, the Raps continue to jack 3s like it has been working. The worst part about it is that they don’t even have the rebounding (outside of Bosh…who is currently tied for 2nd in the league with 12.2 per game) to gather any missed 3s. As good ol’ Leo would say, long shot, long rebound. As I would say, long shot, long rebound, long night for the Raptors again.

Let’s look at 3 point percentages in the league. The Raps are in last with a 0.298 average, second last are the Clippers at 0.299 and then just above them are the Heat with 0.301. We all know where Toronto is in the standings (2nd last in the Titanic Division), the Clippers are playing .500 ball and the Heat are a couple of wins ahead of the Raps. Not good. I know, basketball is not as simple as to suggest that if you don’t have a good 3 percentage that you will lose games, but what I am suggesting is that if you’re losing games and you are putting up a lot of 3s with a poor percentage, you’re not helping yourself.

Even better to examine are Lenovo stats. What are those? They show +/- with regard to player combinations on the floor, or even simpler, they show how teamwork works. After last night’s games, guess which team had some great Lenovo stats? Yep, the Heat…who just happened to be playing the Raptors. The top 3 combination? Posey/Wade/Kapono with a +22. Yesterday’s top 2 combination? Posey/Kapono with a +31. Yesterday’s top individual? Kapono with a +37.

To put this into perspective, the Raptors top 3 from last night were Parker/Nesterovic/Ford with a +9. Top 2? Nesterovic/Ford with a +9. Top individual? Nesterovic with a +5.

So what to make from this quick hash of stats? Well, for starters, if you don’t have a good percentage in something, you should probably not do so much of it until you figure out what’s wrong. If you can’t shoot 3s, don’t walk down the court and take one at the start of the shot clock.

The Raptors (read: Sam) have to get this rotation sorted, because there have been some puzzling moves lately (Slokar at the end of the 3rd for 5 minutes? Given, it’s not a crucial time, but I don’t like doing that at the end of a quarter…if the other team makes a run, using the new guy as a floor mat, it deflates the team going into the tv break).

Anyway, it’s a really crude use of stats here, but just wanted to give you an idea of how they’re important.

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Jay wrote this today:

Hey Raps fans,

Sorry for being the absentee blogger the past few games, busy times. Actually, come to think of it, I think I’ve been doing more running around in the past few days than the Raptors have.

Needless to say, things have taken a downturn, with the Raps dropping four straight. In basketball, that is occasionally going to happen, streaks and slides are what the NBA is all about. But problems occur when a lack of effort and awareness become apparent.

Anybody who watched the first few losses would have noticed some of the same problems we have seen before: an absolute lack of defensive prowess, poor shot selection, a clear inability to rebound, etc. But for those of us who suffered (and I honestly do mean suffered) through the game against the Heat last night and against Portland on Sunday was appalling.

I’m sorry, but the Heat Toronto faced last night was NOT the “World” Championship Miami Heat. Shaq was out and Payton was out. Two pretty important guys to have on your bench even if they are getting up there in age. There was more than ample opportunity to clamp down on D-Wade. If there is one thing I am sick of hearing, it’s that “______ is going to get his, we just have to concentrate on limiting the rest of the team.” That’s garbage. Sure, (enter player name here) is going to get his points if you give them to him. Near the end of the 2nd quarter, Wade rolled off 11 straight points. At no point in that sequence did any Raptor look like they wanted to get in his face.

While there are tons of areas in which the Raptors have to improve, one that isn’t mentioned enough is attitude. You honestly have to believe that you can stop players, that you can stop a scheme, that you can stop a play if you are going to do it. I think Doug Smith wrote last week (it may have been someone else, but I think it was Doug) that defending the pick and roll is almost impossible. Really? REALLY? Given, if it is executed effectively, it is difficult, but to call it impossible to defend is crazy. You can switch, you can have a third man step up and provide pressure, you can manage a step around…sure, this may result in an additional dish to another player for an open shot, but at least it’s an extra pass you forced them to make, which is an extra opportunity for a mistake.

You have to believe you can win. You have to believe you can stop the other team and its star players. You have to be motivated. I’ll end with some words from Lou Holtz (sorry to go all football on you guys, but these are words of wisdom). When asked how he used to motivate his football teams, Lou said, “Motivation is simple. You just eliminate the people who aren’t motivated.” True enough.

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Jay wrote this today:

Marty Burns of SI.com has a great understanding of basketball and is one of the essential basketball writers you need to read if you want to keep up on things. The one thing I go to every Tuesday to check on is the NBA Power Rankings, which Marty posts according to his view. There is usually good statistical analysis, with some personal insight included, which makes for an intriguing list. One of the good things about any sort of list is that it provides a forum for discussion, creating topics and driving some burning issues with its readers. I don’t think there has ever been a Power Ranking list that has had complete approval from all fans, that’s how it goes.

That being said, maybe it’s just my Toronto slant (which is completely possible), but it seems that Marty never cuts the Raptors any slack. He’s always very quick to put them near or at the bottom of his list. Here’s an example from last week. The Raptors were listed in 30th (last) place in the league. He had the Bucks at 28th, even though they had already lost twice to the Pacers (who the Raps beat) and once to the Raptors.

Burns had the Bobcats ahead of the Raptors, even though they had lost to the Raptors and had the same record at the time. In 22nd spot, Burns had the Wizards, who were 4-9 at the time after 4 straight losses and 7 in 8 games. They were 0-7 on the road at the time (sound familiar?), matching their worst road start in franchise history.

Let’s also think in the way college football does. What about the strength of schedule? The Raptors had some serious opponents off the start of the season, including San Antonio and Utah, which should be included when judging where they rank in the league. Sure enough, as their schedule has eased up a bit, the Raptors have found some wins, showing that while not great, they aren’t the doormat everybody seems to think they are. This week, they are ranked 23rd and here is what Burns has to say, “Maybe they’re figuring out this small-ball thing – or maybe they were just motivated by last week’s cellar spot in these Rankings. Whatever the reason, Saturday’s win at New York made it two straight and five of seven overall.”

Maybe they just weren’t that bad to begin with, Marty.

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