Fire Sam Mitchell.

A loss to a 50 win team - no big deal, but two potentially rhetorical comments Leo & Chuck provided during last night’s sham spoke to the level of anemia:

“For some reason, the Raptors came out flat.”

&

“You can’t have the opposing team laughing at you on your home floor.”

Answers: A) Reason: See domain name B) You can and you will.

the passion hasn’t waned.

Fire Sam Mitchell.

The new guy, is 6′8, 205lbs??? 205lbs?

With the upper body pictured below, he’s gotta have some skinny twigs that’d make Keon Clark jealous.

As predicted, the Pistons didnt arise for last night’s game. Lacking the spacing injured sharpshooter Rip Hamilton normally gives them, their offense was anemic.

That said, Coach of the Year, “Smitch” coached a solid game for the Raps: the Ford/Bosh pick n’ roll was steady throughout, the starting lineup change infused some urgency and purpose on the defensive end and the two-pronged PG attack to close out the game was a worthwhile risk that paid off.

It would be nice if a well coached game didn’t warrant mentioning, but it has been the exception ’round these parts.

Reader: There can be no question that it is time for Sam Mitchell to go. He has proven that last year was an anomaly and he is a 25-30 win coach. His rotations make no sense and he is ruining the promise of Andrea Bargnani by constantly benching him instead of letting him play through the defensive issues. Looking at this team, who do you think could be the next coach to get this team to where they need to go?
Mike, Toronto

Doug Smith*: Obviously, you.

*Toronto Star’s resident Raptor blogger and frequent Mitchell apologist - a stance he’s never defended with the slightest smidgeon of depth or basis.

Smarmy response. In the comments, Smith goes on to say (abrasively):

“I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear, I think he’s a good coach, I do not think they should — or will — make a change. So, to ask “who’s next?” is not going to get a legit reply. “

A legit reply or a civil one addressing the facts would convey some journalistic respect of the ‘dialogue’ the internet is predicated on. To retort, it raises the question: How (or more importantly, how on [expletive] earth) is Sam Mitchell in the Good coach pile?

Envision an opposing team’s coaching staff hunkered down at the morning meeting — frazzled, trying to second guess the Raptor’s gameplan on game day?

“We HAVE to be prepared. Anything is possible with Mitchell and his ingenious coaching staff. This is a well coached team able to handle dynamic situations much like Bellichek and Brady were able to adjust at the line of scrimmage. We are going to have to be prepared defensively to deal with that intricate Horns Up play, and watch for their cutters…wait, I forgot they don’t have cutters! Anyone want to go see a movie? I heard Semi-Pro was moderately funny!”

As we theorized a couple of days on the comment board:

For tonight’s game at least, TJ is back in as the starter, with Jose selflessly coming off the bench again.

Let’s see how this pans out…

It’s going to be tough for the Pistons to get up for this game. Their overtime win against the Sun’s took battlefield grit, scraped elbows and primal screams to outmuscle Shaq, Amare and their spindly general, Nash.

Tonight, they’ve got to contend with the Raptor’s inside presence, with the combined tenacity of a slightly upset kitten. Rumour has it, they’re considering giving this squad some playing time:

The Raptors, ups and downs considered, currently stand at a 35-35 record; square 1, same record as opening day, 5 months ago.  With 12 games remaining and a relative cakewalk of a schedule, they *should* finish with a record as high as 6 games above .500.

Given their recent form, 2-8 in the last 10 albeit sans Bosh, it might be a stretch to even finish 2 games above .500.

Consider the below: The Raps’ would have to hold court at home against Milwaukee, Miami and New York (three doormat teams), beat Chicago at home, win at home and on the road against Charlotte for the projected 7-5 finish.

note: Esteemed panel of 1, considers road wins in playoff-battling New Jersey and Atlanta improbable.

Otherwise attainable, yes. As of late, questionable at best.

Here’s some food for thought. Get a plate.

If, as the theories and pundits are correct, Jose Calderon is suffering the onset of late-season fatigue, why not put him on the Injured Reserve, for a timely rest?

Yes, it should have been done a few weeks ago, but the Bosh injury exacerbated his workload. Now, even with a crucial stretch coming up*, it’s still hard to fathom how 8 to 10 days off won’t rejuvenate the Spanish workhorse.

*the ‘avoid 7th and the chance to get pummeled by the Pistons sweepstakes’

Had Jose sat out against Denver, tomorrow’s Pistons game and Friday’s contest vs the Knicks, he’d have an 8 day layoff in time for the stretch run against teams he should, by all accounts, dominate against.

Some things to consider:

• Kenyon Martin picks up his 5th foul with 5:03 to go. The Nuggets switch Camby onto Bosh. Coming out of a timeout, conventional wisdom would suggest a backscreen to force Camby to switch with Kenyon? Or ANY play to attack Kenyon? No thanks. In fact, Bosh ends up taking zero more shots, the rest of the game. Zero.
• Moon, although a relative stalwart on the defensive end, once again shot more 3 pointers (5) than he had FT attempts (2). The 28% three point shooter took five more than the 48.3% shooting, league leader, Kapono (0).
• TJ, pulled with 7:35 to go, after making 3 straight shots, once again sulked his way back to the bench shaking his head and looking for solace but only finding it in the outstretched hand of Primo. Primo, who had the awkward copper suit/ spiky hair combo going, likely needed some solace himself.
• Up 17 at one point in the first, main weapon Bargnani with an absurd 16 first quarter points, takes a breather 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Ok, but Andrea doesn’t return till the start of the 3rd, about 30-40 real-time minutes later (Sam’s usual subbing pattern) and predictably he’s stone cold, going on to miss the remaining 6 shots he takes in the game. Good coaching is deviating from robotic substitution patterns and riding a white-hot hand when it presents itself.

Or maybe this was the problem:

“We did a lot of good things but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said.