Despite Bosh’s 32 points, including 17 in the opening 12 minutes, and each starter reaching double digits in scoring, Mitchell was impressed with his team’s defence, especially in the second half when the high-flying Bobcats were held to 35% shooting.
"I always remember what Pat Riley taught me,” Mitchell said of the legendary coach.
"When things aren’t working, it’s not your scheme.
"You’re just not doing it (defending) with the emotion, pride and energy you need to do it."
Nesterovic’s presence is starting to rub off on Bosh, who has become more vocal on defence.
"It’s easy for me to play with him,” Nesterovic said of the three-time all-star.
"And I’m showing him something.”
The Raptors were something to behold when the game began. They made 17 shots in succession, a stretch that turned into a clinic.
Then came the stench of poor shots, miscommunication on defence and getting exposed off the dribble.
The change was dramatic as it was shocking, but then came a half-time gathering inside the locker room, a yelling and screaming session the players took to heart.
"We gutted it out," said Anthony Parker, who had 20 points. "We got to the free-throw line. We got stops when we needed it. And that’s what we have to do."
Said Sam Mitchell, the Toronto coach: "This is a tough team for us to match up against. This team drilled us last time. They crushed us on the boards. … We rebounded a lot better tonight."
As Mitchell likes to point out, no coach ever got a steal or a rebound.
"When I played, I had a coach tell me one time, `I can take any team and win,’" said Mitchell. "I said, `But you can’t take any player and make sure with two seconds left on the shot clock that he can make that 17-footer?’ Yeah, you can get him a wide-open shot but if he can’t shoot, then what?
"I think people get caught up in all the b.s. … and what they think a coach should be."
Upon questioning, Bailey did not appear particularly nostalgic about an era that had recently ended. Her dear old dad had been wearing Toronto’s No. 2 until he was waived and reassigned to the coaching staff last week. But the world moves fast, apparently.
Said Bailey, 7, of her point guard of choice: "I’ve got Jose’s bobblehead at home, too."
Said Parker to Martin, one father to another: "You’ve been replaced."
Up four late with the ball, coming out of a timeout and you know that they’re going to dump the ball into Bosh, who has dominated. Am certain that’s the call. Well, they dribble the clock almost away, forced to get a Moon jumper (and I’m pretty sure a Moon jumper is not in the playbook). Bad. Okay, though, ‘cause they get a stop and surely to all that’s good in the world, they’ll get Bosh the ball this time, right?
Oops, no. T.J. takes what has to be considered a questionable shot at best, it misses, Bobcats come back and hit a three and if Sam’s head didn’t start hurting, I’d be shocked.
Okay, so they still go on to win and the two blips don’t cost them but against a good team in a playoff game they might.
Let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that these guys rattle off six wins in their last eight games (it might be a stretch given their penchant for blowing relatively easy games but play with me here).
That gives ‘em 44 for the season and, I’m guessing, a fifth seed. Maybe sixth.
Is that a good season?
Does 44 make it successful given the absence of Garbo for almost the entire year, the absence of Ford for 24 games and Bosh for 15, the inconsistencies of Bargnani and every swingman on the roster and the presence of a rookie in the starting lineup?
Can you make the case, given those circumstances, that they over-achieved to get to 44, or even 43?
I think you can make that argument quite easily. And what’s that say about the coaching? And the other guys? That they were able to, in the absence of three key players and the knowledge that they never knew night to night what they’d get out of Delfino, Kapono and Moon, survive and even thrive at times?
I think it says a lot.
Let’s say Bosh only misses six games and of the nine he sits out they win over? Take that and you’re getting to 47, 48 wins and then how’s the season?
I know ‘what ifs’ are folly but it’s a discussion you could have sitting around an adult beverage parlour.
"I’m not a talker by nature," Bosh said. "That’s how I am naturally. I know that I have to step outside myself, because I really like winning. And that really helps it out. So whatever it takes, I’m going to do it."
He has learned how much talking while playing defence can help a team win, and in this respect, centre Rasho Nesterovic has been a good influence.
"I’ve been trying to talk all the time, but when you have somebody that talks with you, it kind of influences you," Bosh said. "You want to continue to do it because it helps us out."
On offence, Bosh says about all that can be accomplished by talking is to say "Hey, I’m open."
But defence is a different matter.
"On defence, you can instruct everybody and I think it really helps us out," he said. "Guys are more aware."
Nesterovic said the reason the talking on defence was so important was to cut down on the second-chance points.
"Rasho and Chris were talking in the back and helping," head coach Sam Mitchell said. "I can hear them talking on defence. Rasho is rubbing off on Chris as far as communicating in the back. Chris was good communicating.
"Rasho has been huge for us lately," Mitchell added. "Rasho knows how to play. He’s just been huge for us. Without Rasho playing the way he’s played, it would be tough."
The Bobcats, 28-46, were coming off three consecutive victories, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers, on a four-game Western swing.
"They beat teams we didn’t beat out there," Mitchell said.
"I thought at the beginning of the third quarter when they went on that 14-2 run, that really killed us for the game," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said. "I’m not sure if it was fatigue that finally set in at that point, but we missed some shots that we usually make."
But I think the never-ending disappointment with Joey Graham is that he has a pretty good dose of Moon’s athleticism, but has never harnessed the kind of competitive spark that Johnson showed. If ever did, he would be a really good NBA player. But most are by now pretty convinced he won’t, which suggests the seemingly ‘learned’ habits Johnson showed might not be so easy to ‘learn’ after all. In other words, the more I watch the more I’m convinced that hustle and fire are gifts just like leaping ability and size. The very best have it all.
They almost did not capitalize on playing the doormat Bobcats.
The Raptors could not take enough advantage of their stellar first quarter. Buoyed by Bosh’s 17 points in the quarter, the Raptors shot 82% from the floor, but only took a seven-point lead into the second quarter despite the gaudy number.
In an attempt to ratchet up the defence, Mitchell adjusted the rotation a little bit, although the moves did not pay immediate dividends. Jason Kapono, who got a spot start against the Hornets, did not get off the bench against Charlotte.
Instead, Linton Johnson, who was signed to a 10-day contract on Thursday, was brought in to provide some defensive intensity on the perimeter.
As well, when Nesterovic picked up his two quick fouls, Kris Humphries, and not Andrea Bargnani, was the first big man off the bench.
However, the move was likely not a complete indictment of Bargnani’s play, but rather more indicative of what Mitchell was looking for at the time – quickness and defensive aptitude – two traits Bargnani has not yet shown consistently.
The difference between this game and the last time the Charlotte Bobcats faced the Toronto Raptors was almost mathematical in nature:
As in, the Raptors, minus Chris Bosh, equals, well, not so much.
Add Bosh back into the mix, and the effects are dramatic. The All-Star forward scored 32 points, reaching the foul line 16 times Monday in a 104-100 Raptors victory at Bobcats Arena.
Those raw numbers don’t fully convey Bosh’s impact: He drew so much attention defensively that Toronto center Rasho Nesterovic and forward Jamario Moon — hardly the top priorities on an opponent scouting report — combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds.
"Halfway through (each) season, he doesn’t put an All-Star jersey on for nothing," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of Bosh. "Whenever he touches the ball, he makes us a better basketball team.
"Not only does he command a double-team, he gets to the foul line."
Bosh took nearly as many free throws (16) as the Bobcats (20). Didn’t matter who guarded him — Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace or finally Jared Dudley. Bosh abused them all.
"We tried a bunch of different things," said Bobcats coach Sam Vincent. "But he was able to get through the middle, get fouled and make them."
Charlotte was killing us on the weak-side cuts all-game long (especially in the second quarter), we were a step too slow fighting through screens and Wallace and Richardson were getting easy scores. What was adding to the misery was Charlotte pushing the ball up court, getting into their sets early and executing them by getting guard penetration. The Raptors looked fatigued and didn’t have a defensive answer. TJ Ford’s introduction into the lineup eased things up a little and we went on a 4-0 run to end the second which cut the lead from 9 to 5 giving us something to build on in the third. By that time Bosh was rested, we were sharper on defense, hit the glass hard and Rasho/parker picked up the scoring. It was evident that if we played a 5 on 5 game from this point out, we’d have a good shot to win it because our defense had picked up and Charlotte’s offense wasn’t nearly as active or efficient – it’s that first game back from West theory again.
Wow that was one of the most boring wins I have ever seen. There were a lot of good buckets, dunks and plenty of scoring so why did it seem like a yawner? Could it be the sparse crowd of 87 people there? That was in Carolina country right? Guess they are all tuckered out from the college tourney. Anyways, Raptors did what they had to on the road and get a big win as they chase the 5 spot in the East. From what I saw (flipped a lot) Bosh and Ford played well and Rasho continues to bring the noise. Sure Charlotte still played tough but this time the Raps had a little CB4 to add to the menu and that was what put them over the top.
So the Raptors played the Bobcats tonight, and I bet you are wondering why I’m not talking about that game. I figure f*ck them, that’s why. If the Raptors will decide to turn their game on and off, I will decide to blog about them
A guy that does seem to be proving his worth since being re-inserted into the starting five is T.J. Ford. Another solid night at the office for Ford, racking up 16 points and seven assists while only committing two turnovers in 34 minutes of play.
He also had the highest +/- of any player tonight, with a plus-19. The lowest +/- tonight went to Jose Calderon who was a minus-18. I hate to beat at a dead bush, but is anyone going to criticize Jose the way they jumped all over Ford when the numbers were reversed?
It just goes to show that Raptors fans are unfairly biased towards Jose, and against T.J. Give the guy some love. He is playing at a very high level right now while maintaining control on the floor with the rock.
Early in the game Mitchell had me scratching my head again with some of his line-up combinations as the Bobcats used their athleticism in the second quarter to get Toronto back on its heels. And it was obvious that Bosh needed a breather before he missed an alley-oop attempt and got beat down the court by his defender on consecutive possessions.
However Mitchell adjusted and realized that it was his starters who were going to win him this game. He didn’t waste much time after that and did a solid job countering anything Sam Vincent threw at him.
Most impressive about tonight was the amount of time the Raptors got to the free throw line. Tonight the Raptors got to the charity stripe 37 times, 17 more than their average of 20, which is the worst in the league. While they shot below their shooting percentage of 81.3%, which is ironically tied for tops in the league, at 73%, they still made seven more free throws (27) then they usually attempt.
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Out of curiosity, where do you get your pics from?
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Depends. I actually have an account with Getty Images through my old work, so a few from there. Some from AP. Some from Google and Yahoo. Majority are from Getty since my account allows me to use them under copyright. Not like that is a huge issue at this point.
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