Friday December 18 2009 - 10:42am Eastern - Toronto, ON
I took a day off from the blog yesterday but it certainly wasn’t an off-day for me overall …
I got home at 3am from the flight from Orlando … was back on the air with Jack Armstrong on “The Game Plan” at 2pm … went to the SUN TV studios to record “The Grill Room” at 430pm … and then was back at the FAN hosting “Hoops” - alongside Paul Jones - at 7pm.
By the time I walked through my front door again around 930pm, I realized I hadn’t even been home from a full 24 hours yet and I had jammed a ton of stuff into a short time period … but I let the blog slide. Sorry I didn’t check in yesterday folks!
And if you missed “Hoops” last night … you missed almost 2 hours of Dr. Jones and Dr. Smith talking to their patients on the leather couch in the psychiatrist’s office. Folks were fired-up - and distraught - about the Raptors last night! Heck, we canceled two of our guests last night in order to clear more space for more callers ’cause the phone lines were jammed and overflowing.
From trades to firings … signings and hirings … the Raptor Nation was united in their displeasure with Toronto’s disappointing play and somewhat alarming 11-17 record.
But is there “hope” on the horizon?
Before the calendar flips to 2010, here’s how the schedule unfolds:
vs New Jersey
vs New Orleans
at Detroit
vs Detroit
vs Charlotte
With 4 of the 5 games at HOME, the Raptors must take advantage and get themselves back on track. Plus, while their 11-17 record clearly proves they’re not exactly striking the fear of God in opponents either, Toronto must look at the fact that every single on of these games is against a team that is under .500. There are no powerhouses to stare down (including New Orleans (who the Raps already beat this year anyway)).
This 5-game stretch could make or break season for the Raptors.
If Jay Triano’s crew goes 3 and 2 over the next 2 weeks, they’ll be 5 below .500 heading into the new year. That’s ‘manageable’ I guess in the grand scheme of things.
Going 4-1 - or dare I even suggest … 5-0 - would go a long way in getting Toronto back on track and possibly restore the team confidence as well. At 4-1 (or 5-0) Toronto would enter 2010 only 3 (or 1) games below .500 … with the toughest part of the schedule having already past in the opening 2 months of the season and nearly half (17/41) of the road sked already done.
However, if the Raptors sputter over this 5-game stretch and manage to go just 2-3 … or 1-4 (I’m not even going to mention 0-5) and enter the new calendar year nearly 10 games below .500 … with Boston, San Antonio, and Orlando looming large as the first 3 games of 2010 … I’m afraid the season could be lost.
So this is it. These 5 games. Make or break.
E. Smith
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Great work!!
- BlueJays08Eric, your starting to sound like the other Smith with his “If we win five in a row nonsense”. Let’s just talk about the team now, not what they may or may not do.
- carpetmanThanks for this uplifting piece of commentary, Eric.
5 games under .500 going into 2010 is “manageable”?
Truly unbelievable how low the expectations and standards have fallen in this city.
“Manageable”? Are you kidding me?
Chuck got outta here at EXACTLY the right time!
- brento516 words in this blog … and you pull out the 5-6 that were a throw-away line (”Dare I even suggest 5-0″) that was said, clearly, with an almost sarcastic tone.
The team, right now, is not good. They’ve been wildly inconsistent. That’s been said by me and Jonesy and many of you over and over again (listen to Hoops or the Rap or read previous posts here for proof).
So while I don’t appreciate you slagging “the other Smith”, I’m far from spinning sunshine here. As I pointed out, this could be the make or break point - this 5-game stretch - based on how the team is playing.
- Eric SmithAnd yet again, Brento, you’ve missed the point.
I know you’ve read enough stuff here and listened to enough of the broadcasts to know that I’ve been critical of the team when it’s been warranted (and that’s been a lot this year). Heck, I spent 15 minutes on the FAN this morning - with Mike Hogan - being critical of the inconsistent and spotty effort and intensity of this team. And spent 2 hours on the Hoops show last night breaking down all that ails the Raps (from coaching to management to the players (whom I give more of the blame to)).
And where did I say that 5 games under .500 was GOOD? I didn’t say folks should rejoice over that. I simply said it’s manageable. Not the tone intended in me putting that word in quotes as well. Manageable, to me, means … not “down and out”. It still gives you enough wiggle room for the possibility (remote or otherwise) of getting back on track. being 9 or 11 games below .500 doesn’t offer that same potential ‘hope’ (for lack of a better term).
So don’t spin my words and twist them to what you want to say or feel or interpret.
- Eric SmithPeople need too lay off of the Raps. All these folks crying for someone’s head are just plain stupid. You need to relax. This is a really talented team that is missing one key piece. That piece is Reggie Evans.
A week or so ago a caller was on the Gameplan saying that Evans had never started and hardly played over 20 minutes in any game, yadda yadda yadda. What is more important than Evans’ stat sheet is what he brings to the individuals on the team;
1) Regualar beatings in practice.
2) Being able to back up his words (hard to say stuff when you haven’t played yet).
3) Striking fear into the hearts of the opponent’s best cutters, slashers and penetrators.
and finally:
4) Putting guys to the deck in a very noisy and hopefully violent fashion.
When he suits up, the rest of the leg better watch out. Reggie Evans WILL change the identity of this team.
The Raptors may be 11-17, but no one else has a starved pitbull on leash and such a fat, easy schedule coming up.
- T.J.I hope they lose this game because then they will make some big trade or start building!
- Raps Fan No More!Hey Eric,
Great blog. I missed Hoops last night, but what is your take on any potential trades/management/coaching changes that might be considered in the coming year? Any rumours around the ACC water cooler?
Paul
- PMThere is growing number of fans in Toronto that believe the critical flaw in the Raptors is trying to build around Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh is the best raptor player on the team. No one is going to debate that. But he is not a franchise player or a cornerstone for a team. He will get great stats like Elton Brand or Zach Randolph but achieve nothing in team success.
How many times we have been fooled by great starts that have fizzled out. He has trouble against physical players, injury-prone, chokes in the playoffs (Nets, Magic) and lacks leadership skills. He is a terrible defender (except rebounding) like all of the raptor players. The offense stagnates with him as a key player with very little ball movement. The offense becomes so predictable and the defense is no better (even without barg and calderon out of the lineup against the Bucks the result was the same).
The interesting question is what will Chris Bosh’s legacy be in the NBA. The next 5-7 years will define it. If he tries to be the cornerstone for another franchise, the likely outcome is going to be no different than what you see with the current raptor team. There is small chance he may be successful but highly unlikely. But the best bet for him is to play a secondary role or as a second banana to a franchise player like Wade. He will probably have the best success.
So what will it be?
Bust, Elite or Second Banana.
Sadly there are no superstars or franchise players on this team. The experiment has failed with Chris Bosh. Let’s move on.
- timetomoveonI listened to Hoops last night and I might be one of the only people out there that still believes in this team. As Eric said, the worst part of the schedule is over. This team has too much talent and they do care. If they can stay around .500 through January, the schedule really turns in their favour. The trade Bargnani comments from some of the listeners are nonsense. When he puts it all together, he is going to be quite the player.
- Don CHi, Eric.
I heard you on speak with a caller on last night’s show, just prior to 8:00 PM, concerning your belief that the Raptors [11-17/.393] are a better team than the Bobcats [10-14/.417]. According to what you said, your opinion was based on conversations you have had with various NBA insiders who you have encountered across the league and what their impression of Toronto and Charlotte has been to this point in the season.
Respectfully, it is my contention that you … and these NBA insiders who you happened to have communicated with regarding the relative strength of these two teams … happen to be incorrect in this assessment, and will eventually be proven wrong are the season plays itself out.
After starting the season poorly, without Stephen Jackson on their roster, the Bobcats have begun to climb up the standings in the Eastern Conference, and are now ahead of the Raptors. Although the Raptors [#4] have played a more difficult schedule than the Bobcats [#15], to this point, IMO, Charlotte has more “NBA talent” on its current roster, and should probably be expected to close out the current season by finishing ahead of Toronto in the final standings.
Calderon [+1] > Felton
DeRozan < Jackson [+1]
Turkoglu Diaw
Bargnani < Chandler [+3]
———————-
Jack = Augustin
Belinelli < Henderson [+4]
Wright < Brown [+5]
Johnson < Mohammed [+6]
———————-
Seems Law
Mensah-Bonsu = Graham
Nesterovic [+4] > Diop
O’Bryant < Ajinca [+8]
———————-
Triano < Brown [+9]
PS. Hopefully, the fanbase should now be able to see that we’ve been saying for a while now, re: Jose Calderon’s relative lack of individual defensive prowess not being the major catalyst for the team’s many short-comings on that side of the ball, has been a highly accurate assessment. :-)
- khandorListen we can say all we wanna say. We will never win with andrea on this team. I am sure he is a nice guy. He simply doesnt have the makeup for a championship nba team. Him and jose have to go before we can be taken seriously. You can only have one guy who cant guard in your starting 5. That guy is hedo.
Its simple really
quite simple
- jose haterHey, Jose Hater i agree with you about Jose and Barg can’t defend but, if we try trading them it’s not like we are going to get good players when we trade 2 guys that can not defend right?
Thomas for General Manger!
- Raps Fan No More!Andrea Bargnani will, likely, never “put it all together”. He just doesn’t seem to have the fire in him. It’s simple.
And T.J. — that commentary about Reggie Evans being the key to a Raptors rise up the standings was a joke, right? It had better be.
Timetomoveon - you hit the NAIL ON THE HEAD!! Excellent post, very insightful. It’s virtually impossible for a power forward to lead a team. He either needs a great point guard (ie. John Stockton) or a great guard/small forward (ie. Bryant, Jordan, and many others) to play beside.
Good post.
- brento