The Sam defenders are REALLY coming out of the woodwork recently, so answer me this. (Last post micro-analyzing the round 1 loss, I promise — the below article just cements something we were harping on earlier).
Despite not having players with Piston’esque defensive ability, while Dwight was putting up those gargantuan numbers, why wasn’t the below strategy considered?
[from ESPN.com]
“He averaged 22.6 points, 18.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks against Toronto — helping Orlando advance in the playoffs for the first time since 1996 — to rival what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone produced in those categories during the playoffs in the 1970s.”
Pistons coach Flip Saunders started with Jason Maxiell guarding Howard before sending Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Ratliff at him.
Howard’s 12 points were the fewest he scored during this postseason and his eight rebounds marked a career low in 10 playoff games. His lackluster game led to Orlando scoring a season-worst 72 points, 13 fewer than its previous low.”
The four horsemen would have slowed Dwight considerably — Hump, Primo, Rasho, Bosh — in the LEAST sending him to the line more often (HOWWW-ARD, HOWWW-ARD) and causing him to expend more energy, jostling for position with players not so concerned with saving their fouls. Common sense.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I had a look at the game 5 stat sheet just now - none of our guys were in foul trouble, Hump and Primoz didn’t play. Rasho and Bosh ended up with 3 fouls each.
And Dwight had a big game.
In a game where you are getting eliminated and Dwight is beating you up - some bigs should fouling out in the 4th - I would think so anyway - seems like Raps were just unprepared to take him on.
Dwight ended up with 10 free throw attempts so I guess there was a little effort to defend him.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:38 am
The wheels came off in the first few minutes of game 1 in Orlando and the whole series ended in that first quarter. I still can’t understand why smitch changed the lineup and brought Moon off the bench, he ended up playing some garbage time at the end. Mind you I’m not a fan of his reflexive shooting beyond the arc, but we could’ve used some of his enthusiasm at the start of the series, maybe block a few shats and send a message. Playoffs are about matchups. To the Raptors however, matchups were based on size (and salaries maybe?) rather then abilities. Flip was secure enough with his manhood to put Maxiell on Dwight at the start. Imagine if Brezec and Dwight were pushing and shoveling and got double T in that first quarter, things would’ve been different. Isn’t that why we got him for?? Or we just got him to take more shats??
May 5th, 2008 at 7:21 am
rick: I have a feeling the directive to start Andrea, probably came from Colangelo, trying to vindicate himself for that questionable first round selection.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Using multiple men on Dwight would seem obvious since we couldn’t afford to double him. It would seem anyway.
May 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Game 5 went downhill in the 3rd qtr when Mitchell took Bargs out with 3 fouls I believe (maybe 4) and made Bosh play Howard the rest of the game. How can Bosh who is giving up a lot of weight defend Howard for an entire half AND be expected to win the game down the stretch on the offensive side?
Another Smitch braincramp that cost us!!!
May 5th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Unfortunately, the Raptors don’t know how to play defense, rebound/box out, or the concept of fouling hard a poor foul shooter. All those things the Pistons know how to do (even their young players like Maxiell).
May 5th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It’s not the personnel, it’s the culture.
We did a good job in getting rid of the cancerous culture. Now everybody gets along.
But we need a culture of toughness and grit. Maxiell isn’t a superstar. He’s like a Humphries who just became what his team groomed him to be.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
what i dont understand is how bryan can straight up say that there wont be a coaching change when everybody knows that dantoni is going to be let go in pheonix. dantoni is the perfect coach for the raptors!!! bryan is a smart guy with a history with dantoni, you gotta let go a mediocre to poor coach to get a guy like dantoni.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
sams a fucking sack of shit….this cunt let kobe go off for 81….fuck bryan colangelo for keeping this bitch.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
hump on howard and brezec on howard use all 12 fouls…but no,we have smitch.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
MORE SHATS!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:24 am
In defense of the Raps Dwight had a good stat line against the Pistons in game 2 - the same sort of number he put up against the Raps
- but then again Pistons got the win
May 6th, 2008 at 7:27 am
It’s all well & good to want smitch out as coach. But the reality is, he’ll just be replaced by some other coach who was run out of their last job, who’s fanbase probably felt the same way about him as *we* feel about smitch, and who probably had their own ‘firexxxxxx.com’ website. Yippee.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
The thing with those player on Detroit are they can also score and are good b-ball players. Hump and Primo suck.
Detroit had the advantage of watching a 1st game tape to use against Howard too. As Sam didn’t. And Howard is a star and will get his stats more often than not.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
@ yertu:
Yes, probably… but that’s not a good reason to avoid making a change. New blood can create a new atmosphere, and a clearing of the air is what this team needs.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Paps: Sure, but it’s not like Dwight or the Magic unveiled a special gameplan for the playoffs.
The Raps had 82 games of tape to evaluate their offensive sets, and the numbers alone told that Dwight a)struggles from the line b) is slightly more likely to be ineffective, when faced with several defenders
As someone mentioned, he will eventually get his numbers…but at least make him work for it.
Agree with your contention that Hump and Primo would provide minimal offense though…comes down to choosing defense over offense on occasion though.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
This might have been the only series where a reasonable case could have been used to play Hump.
http://firesammitchell.com/howard-and-hump/
We have gotten off to about 5-6 starts ranging from bad to dreadful in 11 playoff games. The in-game numbers are even uglier than that sounds. Another major red flag.
Sam needs to realize he cannot simply jump into playing the part of a coach (who should be humble and willing enough to continue to learn and innovate) the night before a big game. Chris called him out, and rightfully so for his haphazard attempt at being a strategist, when he all but denounces any kind of strategical insight every time he speaks.
It’s a process Sam, and you have a lot to learn. Until you realize this, your coach of the year award will stand for less and less as the years pass.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/269318
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-30-91/The-Education-of-Mike-Brown.html
May 7th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
iain - yeah, i know…but ‘careful what you wish for’ comes into play a bit too, no? coaches are hired to be fired, it’s a given. other than phil jackson & pop, 3 coaches since 1990 have a title on their resume…it doesn’t mean that all the coaches out there without a title stink, but just going out & getting someone else for the sake of making a change can be pointless. especially when, if you really break it down, the raps are significantly below the mid- & upper-echelon teams in terms of pure talent. would a *better* coach get more out of the current group? likely…but how much more? it’s not like they become a legit contender w/ jackson or pop running things, do they? i know it’s painful to be patient, but let’s see what moves are made over the offseason & how they start out next before running for the fall-out shelter.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
you end your bit with “common sense”… well, if you had any you would have used it before you wrote that garbage. if you think the four raptors you mention would / could have had the same effect on howard as the four pistons you are comparing them to, put down the pipe son!! the reason sam had to use bosh so much was because bosh was the only one with a backbone.. the euroraptors are softer up the middle than the dance squad.
i guess it’s sam’s fault for making bosh take 20ft’s to win games instead of driving to the lane (with the penalty, and AFTER bosh himself said he needed to take it the rack more in the next game)… must also be sam’s fault that tj ford thinks his initials stand for “take jumpers”… i guess it’s also sam’s fault that colangy keeps going to the international well water like it’s a magic elixir… etc… etc… blah blah… the list can go on and on.
bottom line is the guy works hard with what he is given, and he tells it like it is. i respect him for that and think the league would be a better place if there were more sam mitchels running the show. blame the coach because it’s easy, because it makes you feel better, but remember for every angle you think you have covered, i’m sure there are infinite angles behind the scenes you have no idea even exist.
from your one piece of “coaching strategy” you offer, i can tell you’re a homer. not an nba homer, just a raptors homer with a broadband connection and time to use it.
imo, tj has a nice salary and a box of tissues ready if he doesn’t start - send him packing with his tissue for some inside presence (not from europe, no offence)… don’t jump ship, just fix some holes. lets get some muscle to help bosh, or at least feed the kid, and take it from there.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
You contradict yourself. Through one side of your mouth you say Bosh is the only one with the backbone, and then say he doesn’t drive it. Which is it? Bosh played like a man this series, Dwight really was superman. And if you think you can guard him with 1 guy through the game, which is the point, not that we are as deep as Detroit, then you are as foolish as Sam.
No wonder you support Sam, from your argument, your bball iq seems about the same. Stick with the Grizz if that’s the best you got son.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
he was talking about playing defense on howard… i responded to that in the first paragraph.
the site is calling for mitchell to be fired, so the rest was my reasoning for sam to stay.
ideas / thoughts are separated by paragraph when you write… you need to hit the books a little more.
and yes, bosh was the only one with a backbone on the defensive end.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
It ain’t enough, as you witnessed.
So what’s your point? Just take the loss because the other team is better or try something different? Sit out the next few plays and observe rook.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
haha, rook? if i’m a rook then you must be a d-league fluffer girl because your cheeks are full of junk… too bad for us it spills onto the net!
did you not read the address you typed into your web browser? nobody is here talking about taking the loss, and every post should have something to do with a change… i just don’t think the change needs to happen in the coaching spot.
my point is it’s easy to sit here and point fingers… when you’re in the comfort of your own recliner all your plays make sense (mine too!), but we’re not playing the games.
look at the roster for the season and tell me anything other than a first round exit was in the cards? as soon as bosh went down for that stretch of games, we saw what we had to compete with… it wasn’t much. i just don’t understand how mitchell can be given a lump of dung to work with and then told to make apple pie!?!? on top of that, the big trade deadline move was premo brezec? i’d have taken a can of premo pasta sauce and saved a few bucks.
the truth is sam has probably worked harder than half his team, and it shows. listen to the man speak, he knows what he’s talking about - get players who will listen (instead of sulking). and, even if sam goes, as somebody above said, we’re only going to get another teams left-overs in his place, right?
same roster - same results
remember, almost every coach fails to live up to gm and fan expectations because gm’s and fans don’t make mistakes.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
“listen to the man speak, he knows what he’s talking about”
You lost me a long time ago, but this sealed the deal.
Stop speaking with rhetoric and provide something tangible as proof. Just pumping out line after line of cliches doesn’t cut it around here. Think before you type programmed garbage like this”
“my point is it’s easy to sit here and point fingers… when you’re in the comfort of your own recliner all your plays make sense (mine too!), but we’re not playing the games.”
“get players who will listen (instead of sulking). and, even if sam goes, as somebody above said, we’re only going to get another teams left-overs in his place, right?”
<– again, more trash. You really shouldn’t be so willing to participate in these discussions, you’d be much better just watching the games and mumbling these things to yourself. You typed a hundred words, and none of them amount to anything.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
haha, getting upset so you leave less and less basketball in your posts. seems like the typical gut shot reaction of a lot of the fans… less focus on ball movement, more on finding a scape-goat.
tj, is that you?
i thought this was a raptors related website? wouldn’t most of you already know what sam has said about the team / season / etc… and you all know it’s at least honest, if not true.
and hey, thanks for reposting my thoughts, i thought they deserved another read.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
wco:
I`m astounded by this:
“listen to the man speak, he knows what he’s talking about”
When? Please provide 1 to 2 relevant quotes pertaining to a gameplan. Click on the ‘insight’ category on this site for some verbatim quotes from Sam. His quotes are recycled, borderline arrogant cliches boiling every loss down to the inability to make shots. Even the most ardent of Smitch supporters will agree his X’s and O’s leave mountains to be desired.
Secondly, having players that ’sulk’ and don’t buy or adhere to a gameplan is a coach’s responsibility.
Lastly, the notion that the coaching pool is only as thin as some other teams scraps…is a defiantly pessimistic and naive world view. Isn’t the goal to progress and play at least your talent level (god forbid, overachieve)?
(Should’ve kept Dubya in office too right? I mean, how much can Barack really change in 4/8 years)
May 7th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
“Click on the ‘insight’ category on this site for some verbatim quotes from Sam”
yeah, i’m going to look for quotes to support my argument to keep him around on a “firesammitchell” web site…?
your opinions are as good as anyone elses… but after that last bit of advice, i value mark’s more than yours. i’m just defending the position of patience.
it’s narrow minded to only look at stats and x’s & o’s, you miss the big picture (in other words, watch some games). this squad is ready to run the table at the fiba championship, not the nba championship. “Even the most ardent of Smitch supporters will agree his X’s and O’s leave mountains to be desired.” but so does his roster, no? trying to speak english to this roster is a challenge, let alone communicate defensive tactics.
hey, and you know what, if his team made more shots, they would have won more games.
you know what else, if his team would stop taking bargnani like threes from every angle at every opportunity (HE’S 7FT TALL - TAKE IT INSIDE A LITTLE - PLEASE!!!!), they might just make some more shots and win a few more games.
“Isn’t the goal to progress and play at least your talent level (god forbid, overachieve)?” that’s on the roster, they have a magical number 1 pick (or should i say “brilliant”) who failed to grow, a bunch of guys who try hard but just don’t have it.. that’s the truth.
imo, the roster is the problem, not the coach.
give sam some muscle and some time…
May 7th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
thanks for the laughs and thoughts boys.. it really made the day fly.
i’m off to start my firebryancolangelo.eu site.. and yes european based broadband will be used. as if i had a choice?
May 7th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Misinterpreted - I didn’t ask you to source quotes from HERE, to validate the man knows what he’s talking about.
Reading these, invokes no confidence whatsoever. I’ve rarely heard anything from Sam that provoked the “Hmm, that’s smart - hope it works.”
http://firesammitchell.com/abc-coverage/
http://firesammitchell.com/sam-mitchell-quotes-buckle-up/
http://firesammitchell.com/every-team-loses-5-or-6-games-in-a-row/
(Unless he’s really a basketball genius and his disdain for the media has transformed him into straight-faced comedic talent, spewing blatant nothings each time out and chuckling hysterically when the notepads go away.)
Also for the record, not trying to argue just for the sake or change anyone’s stance…I legitimately think new blood in as a coach, can change the lethargic unworkmanlike culture we have currently. It’s not ALL roster, I contend (”Euro” teams pride themselves on a high work rate and uptempo game).
May 8th, 2008 at 12:21 am
For those that don’t think Smitch should go, how much longer do you want the future of our team (Bosh, Calderon, Bargs, possibly even TJ) to be brought up as basketball players by this guy?
Remember, the entire core of this team is under 25 years old. Bosh, Calderon, Bargs, & TJ still have a lot to learn and Smitch IS NOT GOING TO BE THE ONE TO TEACH THEM.
I don’t like the notion of “well the team isn’t good enough to contend anyway so let Smitch stick around until they are”. The problem with this is i’m afraid that none of these players will EVER be capable of winning with a couple more years of Smitch under their belts. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks…
May 9th, 2008 at 11:58 am
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080501
“negates some of Bryan Colangelo’s brilliance”
after reading that and absorbing some of the brilliance that was colangelo, i’m worried.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
“We’ve been moving the ball, I think we just hit more shots tonight,” said Duncan
maybe the spurs should fire him as well?
May 13th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Simmons needs a fact and revisionist checker on that piece.