Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Critical Mistakes in Crunch Time

Raptors 84 - 87 Hawks

Bargnani is just bringing it

This game was really lost by the Raptors' habit of making bad basketball decisions late in the game. There has been much debate on who was responsible for this loss, but it really comes down to team personality and attitude. This is not the first time we have lost in the last minutes, and I believe the ability to make crucial decisions at this time is what seperates great teams from mediocre ones.

The Raptors outcomes from their possessions in the last two minutes of the game:

1:46: Roko turnover
1:15: Joey missing 9 foot jumper
0:50: Bosh turnover (bouncing ball off foot)
0:35: Jamario Moon missed three (18 seconds left on clock)
0:02: Kapono missed three (after almost losing ball)

Even with players who are not gifted at creating their own shot, it is still possible to manufacture solid shot opportunities through dribble penetration, swinging the ball, correct spacing and most critically, allowing your best 'under-pressure' shooter taking the shot. The Raptors, in my opinion, should have designed plays for Bargnani to take the shots in the final two minutes. I would have had Bosh in the post (fighting for position to make the entry pass easy), with Bargnani the closest player. This type of two man interaction would have caused some defensive concern for the Hawks as Bargnani is capable of shooting, driving and now able to make a pullup j.

On the other side, Joe Johnson took over for the Hawks in the final two minutes. Driving at will and finishing while drawing contract and making ridiculous shots, he is a very dependable player in crunchtime. The Raptors need a player with his personality to truly take the next step as a team.

The Raptors started the game off well, as usual, by playing inside out, and making their jumpshots. The game was close through the first quarter, with Joey Graham and Andrea Bargnani being very aggressive. We managed to get some easy fast break opporutnies with Joey Graham the outlet from a defensive rebound and making a strong jam. Joey Graham looks very comfortable in the open court and this is when he is able to take advantage of his athletic ability. The Raptors entered the second quarter nursing an one point lead 24-23

The beginning of the second quarter was similar to the first quarter, as both teams were going toe-to-toe and keeping the score close. Roko Ukic was playing well, using his smarts and athleticism to drive past the defenders to make easy scores. This type of dribble penetration has not been visible under Calderon this year and help create easier shot opportunities for the other players. Unfortunately, Roko started making some rookie mistakes throughout the game by overdribbling and giving up crucial turnovers. The Raptors turn up the heat late in the second quarter going on a 10-2 run to end the quarter. This was made by playing great defense and forcing turnovers which lead to easy opportunities in the paint.

The Raptors were ahead 52-43 at the break, with good control of the game and were playing well. However, in this quarter the Raptors defense really let them down. They were giving up dribble penetration far too easily, which gave the Hawks open looks at three, a shot they can make. Josh Smith was driving at Bosh, Joe Johnson was driving by our perimeter players too easily and Bibby was camped out at the three point line, making three after three. It would have been worse if their role player Flip Murray could convert on the shot opportunites he was given. The Raptors held though and carried a two point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Hawks started building on their lead through the good habits they had established in the third quarter. Josh Smith continued to exploit the inside, Joe Johnson could get whatever shot he wanted and made it and Bibby exposed us at the perimeter. We just didn't have the athletes to keep up with this youthful Hawks team. The Hawks pulled into a six point lead before the Raptors pulled it back, but as explained above, we made mistakes down the stretch that gave the game to Atlanta. It was a game we really should have won having lead most of the game, but the Raptors managed to give it up.

Andrea Bargnani has really impressed me during 2009. His three point shot was not falling today, but still managed to be productive by hitting pull up jumpers and abusing their undersized bigs in the post. He is really developing quite nicely and complements Bosh very well. I disagree with those we argue we should trade Bosh and put Bargs at the 4, Bargnani has a much better speed advantage against 5 and can guard the 5 very well. This tandem works well, we just need a sg/sf who we can rely to make the neccessary shots and this team will be well constructed.

Anthony Parker continued at the pg poistion and played very well. Credit to Khandor for calling that, and he right in theory and in actuality he matches very well against the less quick point guards. He had a line of 12 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds and this should boost his trade value. He would be a quality guard coming off the bench for a contending team.

The short-term future is not looking good for the team, with this season basically lost but there are positive signs for the long-term with Bargnani's improvement, Bosh's work ethic and the development of Ukic and Graham. Take heart in the fact that we have some of the pieces needed to be a contending team, the hard part is trying to get the rest of them without giving up what you already have.

1 comment:

  1. dino gunner,

    Thanks for that acknowledgment. :-)

    ReplyDelete