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The Raptors: "If you get them down, they go away.”

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  • The Raptors: "If you get them down, they go away.”

    This was apart of a quote from a rival NBA assistant coach that Doug Smith chatted with a couple nights ago. Pretty accurate observation too:

    Come to this realization:

    This is what they are right now. A middling team that’s good one night and bad the next, inconsistent of effort and, more importantly, execution.

    The infuriating thing has to be that they can do it. They can play their defensive system to good success, as we’ve seen on a handful of occasions, the most recent being Sunday.

    And despite the fact they haven’t hit a three-pointer in eons, it seems, they are still one of the more potent offensive forces in the league.

    I was talking to a rival assistant coach one night recently and asked him for an honest assessment of the Raptors.

    What I got was this, and I paraphrase because my tape recorder wasn’t on and the hand-written notes I jotted down are almost indecipherable.

    But the gist of it’s right:

    “It’s a good team, a playoff team. Probably fifth best in the East. But I have no idea why they can’t play hard every night. If you get them down, they go away.”

    Pretty good assessment, don’t you think?

    And maybe that’s where you’re going to be for the next 10 or 15 games, like you’ve been for the first 27. Highs and lows. Some good games, more bad. Effort lacking one night, effort there the next.

    And all you can do, I fear, is hope they find some magical consistency, that they get on some kind of role and it sticks with them. There are no magical solutions, no huge trade, no shocking moves to be made. Maybe something big happens a month from now but for the time being this is what they are.

    Of course, t feeds into the oft-bipolar attributes of some fans and will undoubtedly cause more angst than some would like to suffer through but, a third of way through the regular season, it is what it is.

    Enjoy.
    So, what's the deal then? Are our coaches too hard on our players or are the players that sensitive that they can't respond to coach's criticism?

    Source - Click here

  • #2
    It's very difficult to make comebacks when you can't get stops. Once the Raptors get down by a large deficit, they're very unlikely to make it back up due to their lack of defensive ability.

    Good defense creates additional opportunities to make a run. Bad defense decreases the number of opportunities a team has to make a run.
    Last edited by Dave; Wed Dec 16, 2009, 02:39 PM.
    nbaroundtable

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    • #3
      I think one of the issue is that everyone in the locker room knows now that Bosh is leaving at the end of the year, and because of that, no one on the team seems to give a fuck anymore about this team this season.

      I know there's more to it than just this, but I'm sure this is something that's resonating with this team.
      RR OG

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      • #4
        James Ballswin (Realizar) wrote: View Post
        I think one of the issue is that everyone in the locker room knows now that Bosh is leaving at the end of the year, and because of that, no one on the team seems to give a fuck anymore about this team this season.

        I know there's more to it than just this, but I'm sure this is something that's resonating with this team.
        I agree! But having said that, don't you think it's the responsibility of the GM to correct that issue now? What I don't understand is that every time we hear about ways to fix this team, it's usually Bosh that's involved in trade talks, mainly because he has the most value (which I understand)... well he is our best player and he's indicated time and time again that he loves Toronto and his decision will be based on winning, so why not actually try to fix the mess around him? Players like Bosh don't grow on trees- a leader, a dominant big man, and a great representative for your team.

        If we trade Bosh, or if we lose him in free agency, we still have a bunch of underachieving and inconsistent players that are generally volume shooters and need to be in a hot shooting streak to be effective.

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        • #5
          0-10 when giving up 115 points. That's not for a season, that's for 27 games!

          A sign these guys give up when they get down.
          The best Raptors discussion board is at Raptors Republic.

          Stephen Brotherston, Pro Bball Report

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          • #6
            brothersteve wrote: View Post
            0-10 when giving up 115 points. That's not for a season, that's for 27 games!

            A sign these guys give up when they get down.
            It's a sign of something but definitely not what you said. It just means we have trouble keeping up with the pace of the game. I think the Raptors need to work on slowing the game down, the less possessions they have to defend, the higher their chances of winning.

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            • #7
              "If you get them down, they go away"

              Sounds like Carter's personality still haunts this team.

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