Tuesday December 2 2008 – 11:35pm Eastern
The title comes from regular emailer / poster “Lanny”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
It was a MASSACRE.
What a brutal game.
I don’t even want to recap this one.
I’ll provide some stats, etc. later on … but … after a 132-93 loss … what do you want me to say?
Brutal.
Listen to the post-game here:
[audio:http://qml.quiettouch.com/files/radio/fan590/hotaudio/rapspostgame-fan-20081203.mp3]
E. Smith
Click here to subscribe to Smith's blog
truly brutal, but i stuck it out to the end.
- TomGfromBramptonI didn’t see the Raptors winning any of the games on this short road trip but the way they lost tonight was unacceptable. At least they competed in L.A. on Sunday. This was embarrassing. They’re on ESPN on Friday night for their only nationally televised game of the year so things better improve or heads may roll on the weekend..
- Mark R.Wow. I don’t even know how it went array so quickly. Too many jumpers mid way through the second maybe, i don’t know.
We cannot even compete simply good NBA teams, we’re hardly ever in the game at the end. Boston, LA, Orlando, now Denver. I don’t mind a loss after a though showing, but this, this is why hardly anyone in the US that is into the NBA has no, respect for the our Raps. They seem to always make headlines for all the wrong reasons. (Kobe 82, now this) ugh.
Eric, was this the raps worst loss in franchise history? just wondering.
- StephanWhat u do need to say is that Sam Mitchell is def. not getting the potential out of this team. The one season the Raps take a big step forward he wins Coach of the year and gives Brian no choice but to sign him to an extention. I do not see this team taking it to the next level with Sam as head coach, agree?
- mrpokerAnother example of Denver running up the score! Karl is known for that and I find it very unsportsman-like.
And what to say about the Raps! I am sure my Brock Badgers would have put up a much better fight. It was plain UGLY. Leafs got spanked too and more importantly, a legend in Ted Rogers passed away yesterday. A black day for the city of Toronto!
- BeburgThis was a horrible game and excruciating to watch. The Raps had no defense, missed shots left right and center (shooting average ~34%!!) and simply did not compete. Even if they dont pull off a win, they have to at least be a contender in these games!
- AndreaStephan – this was the 5th worst loss in Raps history
Stephen, I think this was the (4th?) worst loss in Raps history and it looked like they plain gave up.
Walk it up the court, jump shot missed, get beat in transition, walk it up the court, jump shot missed, get beat in transition.
Haven’t we seen that movie b4?
If they go 1-5 on this trip, Sam has lost the room and simply can’t get the potential out of this team.
- GaryToo expensive to fire? Demote him to world’s most expensive scout…
Hopefully the fact that Sam Mitchell decided to do the same thing and say nothing to the guys is hopefully loud enough for them to understand that they are better than this…We will see in Utah!!
- Lanny @ RBC from WhitbyYup. Our defensive intensity has been putrid this season in general, but the second we get down 10-12 points, we panic and essentially mail it in. We don’t fight through it, we permit opposing players to penetrate and dunk unhindered. We don’t even bother giving a hard foul to let them know that they’ll have to pay a price for coming inside. Defensively, we’ve given up completely on Sam, and it’s not hard to understand why. He doesn’t provide much in the way of a defensive philosophy, and, from all appearances, he just corrects “mistakes” without addressing the root causes. It’s not enough to say “you have to close out on shooters” when the cause of our failure to do so runs much deeper.
Offensively, our schemes are stale and predictable. We run essentially one play — the high pick and roll– and otherwise toss the ball around the perimeter and take a contested shots (or force a 7 footer like Bargnani to drive all the way to the hoop from the 3PT line). Our wings won’t drive all the way in, and will typically settle for difficult shots off the dribble. We don’t feed the hot hand. Bargnani, a talented offensive player who is the key to any future success that our franchise may have, isn’t being developed offensively. He’s been largely ignored in the post, and doesn’t get any midrange/corner/elbow touches to take advantage of his combination of shooting ability and quickness for his size. More importantly, he isn’t being given consecutive touches to establish a groove. Shooters feed off of consistency and flow, and he’s being iced throughout the game. Instead, ice cold shooters continue to jack up shots, or we continue to force the ball into Bosh in the elbow, even when it’s just not working (perhaps because the defense is designed to stop it, or Bosh isn’t hitting his shots, or he’s losing the ball, etc.). The point is that we lack any semblance of variety or creativity, which makes it very easy to stop us. The only reason we aren’t a cellar dweller is because our shooters or so ridiculously good – we are able to keep our heads above water despite creating shots of mediocre quality.
We need a coach who can instill defensive intensity and clear defensive schemes that the players understand and buy into. We need a coach who can adapt and adjust to the situations that invariably arise over the course of a game. We need a coach who understands basketball. We don’t need a “motivator” who can scare his team into submission by yanking them at any hint of a mistake. Teams make consistent mistakes when they don’t understand the fundamental concepts of the system. That’s on the coach, not the players. Above all else, Sam has unequivocally lost this team. It’s plain to anyone and everyone. A change has to be made before we end up in a hole that’s too deep to dig our way out of. A blowout loss to Utah should seal Sam’s fate, since I doubt he’ll be fired before we come home. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part and the ever-annoying “it’s still early” argument will satisfy until we’re again ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
- JJWhat a joke last night was. Jose got destroyed again on the defensive end. The team was simply not ready to compete. this has to fall on sam, how much longer do we have to wait to get a real coach in here. Strong chance the raps lose their next three. 8 wins in the first twenty. That sounds like a panick button to me!
- Jeff CarterThey straight up got embarrassed both the starting 5 and the bench. Mrpoker you are 100% correct, fans called for Sam’s head long time ago, some could say prematurely but its clear that he can’t get the most out of this team defensively or offensively.
- D12Stephan – The 39-point difference marked the fifth-worst loss in Raptors history and it ties the fifth biggest win the Nuggets have ever had. … The Nuggets’ 37 assists are the most by an NBA team in regulation this season.
- D12PATHETIC!!! Raptors were like toilets if you know what I mean.
- Steven