The raptors report

The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY
from the first month of the season

ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF

We are a month into the 2006-07 NBA season, and for the first time in a couple of years, the Toronto Raptors aren’t completely out of the playoff race already. At press time, the Raptors hold a pedestrian-like 7-10 record. It surely is nothing for Raptors fans to write home about, but it also is nothing for us to hold our heads in shame for. There is, however, a lot to be discussed about what has transpired in this first part of the season.

The good
Chris Bosh is having yet another all-star year. The face of the Raptors franchise is averaging 21.1 PPG and 12.2 RPG. Bosh is finally getting help in the front-court, something that the team lacked all of last season. His help has come mainly in the form of Jorge Garbajosa, the Spanish import. Garbajosa, who was signed to help do the dirty work for the Raps, has excelled since becoming a starter, averaging double digits in points, and playing stifling defence.

Andrea Bargnani, the team’s first overall selection in the 2006 draft, has progressed about as well as expected. He definitely had trouble at the start of the season, but has improved nicely, and has been the catalyst in some of the Raptors’ recent victories.

As a team, the Raptors have done a terrific job in protecting their home court. The Raptors have gone 5-2 at the Air Canada Centre this year.

The bad
T.J. Ford was brought to Toronto to be a pass-first point guard. While his play has been vital in the Raptors’ good start, Ford has shown that he is anything but a pass-first point guard. His 12.4 shot attempts per game is the highest in his career, and is prone to going on long stretches where he is constantly putting up an ill-advised shot attempt. Ford will need to do a better job of getting the ball to the Raptors’ play-makers (see: Bosh, Chris) if the Raptors are to make a push for a playoff spot.

Another troubling revelation of the past month has been how mediocre some of the Raptors’ bench players are. First you have Anthony Parker who, while competent offensively, does far too little to warrant the number of shots he takes. Second, you have Joey Graham, a holdover from the Rob Babcock era. Graham, in his two years in the NBA, has yet to realize that ramming his shoulder into the opposition’s chest is an offensive foul. The third example of mediocrity has been Jose Calderon, not so much for his play, which has been surprisingly good, but for the fact that he likes to stick three fingers in the air, even if he has only scored a two-pointer.

The ugly
When Mike James left for the Timberwolves in the off-season, Raptors fans thought they had seen the last of a Raptor over-dribbling and throwing up senseless shot attempts. Then the Raptors signed Fred Jones, who has been doing his best Mike James impression since the start of the season. The numbers don’t lie. In over 30 minutes a game, Jones is averaging only 9.5 PPG. Compare that to the 7.9 PPG that Bargnani averages in only 17 minutes a game.

Coaching has also been a problem for the Raptors this year. One example of Sam Mitchell’s ineptitude was in the Raptors’ 93-97 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. With the Raptors down three, and with only 23 seconds left to play, Mitchell called a timeout to set up the perfect play to tie the game: a T.J. Ford layup! I have two problems with that one. First, on the road, down by three, there is no way that any play should have been called that wasn’t a three-point attempt. Second, if you do decide to get a quick two, and hope for another possession, why wasn’t the ball in the hands of Bosh, who has already hit his share of clutch shots this year? Coaching hiccups like this cannot occur if the Raptors want to contend.